Imola F1 trophy auction raises £247,171 for local flood relief

After the cancellation of last month's race, its promoter Formula Imola agreed with the Italian body ASN and F1 to donate the top three trophies and the winning constructors' version to a charity auction.

In addition, Pirelli offered the pole position tyre award, while podium sparkling wine supplier Ferrari Trento donated a bottle of the type used on the podium.

All the items were autographed by the 20 current race drivers over the Spanish GP weekend in Barcelona, with the trophies also signed by the 10 team principals.

The auction was run by F1 partner Memento Exclusives, with the proceeds donated to the Emilia-Romagna region's Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection.

The sale represented a unique opportunity for fans or collectors to obtain modern F1 trophies, albeit ones that hadn't been used and awarded to specific drivers.

Along with the autographs, the trophies have an extra historical element as they also carry the engraved names of the winners of past Imola F1 races from 1980 to 2022, with the list including Nelson Piquet, Didier Pironi, Patrick Tambay, Alain Prost, Elio de Angelis, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher.

George Russell, Mercedes, Imola trophies for Charity

Photo by: Formula 1

The highest price achieved was £71,275 for the winning constructors’ trophy, which proved more popular than the drivers’ version, which went for £60,100.

The second and third place trophies sold for £37,325 and £32,050 respectively, with both topped by the Pirelli pole award at £40,745. The Ferrari Trento bottle raised £11,175.

Regarding the sale, Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola said: "Once again the F1 community has shown great generosity, collecting through this auction a sum to be donated to those who are still suffering from the damage caused by the bad weather in Emilia-Romagna, which has been very serious. and whose consequences will weigh heavily on the population for a long time.

"Any help, even a small one, can help and we are happy to have made our contribution."

"We are pleased to have been able to support the Emilia-Romagna Region's Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection and help raise an incredible sum, to be donated to this worthy cause," said Memento CEO Barry Gough.

"These items were all 'once-in-a-lifetime' pieces, and to have raised £247,171 from them is absolutely fantastic."

Posters signed by Alfa Romeo drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu are still available on the Emilia Romagna auction section of the Memento website.