‘You could feel the energy’ — Competition winners reflect on a spectacular prize giving at the Autosport Awards

It’s not everyday you get to watch a Champion being crowned. For some lucky competition winners, that once-in-a-lifetime moment became a reality at the 2026 Autosport Awards.

Treated to an exclusive night at the iconic Roundhouse in London, the fans joined leading figures from across the world of motorsport to celebrate the stars of the 2025 season.

From the mezzanine, they watch as Doriane Pin, Maya Weug and Chloe Chambers took to the stage to receive their trophies. We chatted to some of the prize winners to get their take on what was an unforgettable evening.

DIVYA

How did you hear about the competition?

“Both my kids are in motorsports and we follow F1 ACADEMY. We follow all the right pages for inspiration and for setting goals. My daughter was actually featured on the F1 ACADEMY page during the Singapore Grand Prix in 2024. She shared her dream with Simon Squibb where he asked her what her dream was and she said ‘I want to be the first female Formula 1 driver. That content went absolutely viral!”

What was your reaction when you found out you’d won a ticket to attend the Autosport Awards?

“I was actually in the car waiting for my daughter to come out of school. I called my husband and I was like ‘oh my God, you never guess what?’. He was like ‘out of thousands of entries you won?’ (…) I was just thinking ‘wow, one day I want to be here. I'd like to come and see this event’ and obviously it manifested.”

What was it like getting to watch the Autosport Awards and the F1 ACADEMY Prize Giving?

“Ross Brawn, Jackie Stewart and quite a lot of the senior members within motorsport all came out and it was really lovely to see them. Jean Todt used to go to my father-in-law’s shop in Kenya on a regular basis. So I said to him ‘do you remember going to this shop?’ He said yeah and I said, ‘well this is his son’ and he spent a few minutes talking to us, which was really nice. We met Doriane Pin as well. What she’s doing now with Mercedes is just incredible and I think it’s a big step for girls in motorsport.”

READ MORE: F1 ACADEMY DISCOVER YOUR DRIVE unveils 2026 Champions of the Future Academy karters

She added: “It's really important, not only to watch F1 ACADEMY from a supportive aspect, but also to see how much support they're getting on the track. My daughter loves watching it because all she can see is where she wants to be in several years. They've got so much support from fans worldwide. It’s so nice as well to see the amount of footage there was with Maya, Aurelia (Nobels), Lewis (Hamilton) and Charles (Leclerc). It shows how supportive they are towards their female sort of teammates and I think that's such a positive way to showcase exactly the work F1 ACADEMY are doing.”

PHILLIPA

“I couldn't believe it. I literally had to call my mum straight away. I was so excited and I couldn't believe the award ceremony it was because I follow that award ceremony. I always look at TikTok and Instagram to see what's happening. So I Googled it and I was like ‘oh my goodness, my friend is going to scream when I tell him that I've got this plus one for this amazing moment’. I was so excited leading up to it and still glowing from it even though it's over.”

“As a woman in tech, I'm always invested in how we are trying to lower the barrier to entry for women in certain fields. F1 ACADEMY has recently released the Driver Development Guide, I was so thrilled when that came out. I want to me an F1 Team Principal so of course, I printed it straight away! That's how I got into the sport, so I'm collecting all of these items to learn from the best and develop my motorsport coaching knowledge.”

I was so excited leading up to it and still glowing from it even though it's over.

“I don't even think I can put into words how much I enjoyed it or how excited I was. You could feel the energy of the people that were there (…) being around fans at that moment and just really feeling the energy bounce off each other. We all have a shared passion — everyone's just so excited about us sharing this moment together and I found that really special.”

“Being there for the special award for Ross Brawn was actually incredible and wholesome because it gave you many different dimensions of one person's influence into the industry. Hearing the messages, stories, and speeches from colleagues, friends, and family was just so beautiful. I don't think I would have read about it or taken much note of it compared to being physically there. I just left feeling extra inspired after learning so much more. You read a name, you see someone's incredible work but actually being there and hearing someone tell firsthand stories, you can't replace that.”

LARISA

“I couldn't believe it! I've never won anything before so at first I thought it was a mistake, or maybe a scam. I went back to the email several times to verify that it was real. Once I got the confirmation, I couldn't stop smiling. I called my best friend to talk about it immediately and then went straight to tell my manager I'd be leaving early that day and coming in late the next.”

“The evening was absolutely incredible. From the moment we walked in, we could feel the excitement in the air. We had a little red carpet moment, and once up in the fan mezzanine, we were looking down at the guests and we immediately started spotting the drivers and teams while waiting for the ceremony to start.

READ MORE: GRID QUESTIONS: Which Winter Olympic sport would our drivers take on?

“It felt very surreal. The event itself was great. Being able to see both new talent and the people that helped shape the sport was pretty incredible. All of the recognitions were well deserved and the ceremony was fun and very entertaining.”

She added: “After the previous season I was rooting for Doriane, since he had done a phenomenal job, and I think she definitely deserved the win in 2025. There were a lot of very talented drivers last season, and Maya and Chloe both brought some great energy and competition. I am from Mexico so I would be thrilled to see a Mexican driver on the grid in the future!

AMBER

“I felt incredibly privileged to be a part of the night and see the F1 ACADEMY drivers receive their trophies and the recognition they deserve amongst the highest achievers in motorsport. The awards evening itself was really fun - it was great to be with other fans and cheer on our favourites — and it felt like we really made a difference to the atmosphere of the evening.”

DALE

“I was over the moon, it was a dream come true. As I’m a huge F1/F1 ACADEMY fan and having a chance to be in the room when they are receiving their awards was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“The whole evening was an incredible experience. My favourite parts were seeing Isack Hadjar and seeing the Mclaren engineers as I look up to them as I hope to work in the industry as an engineer one day and getting a photo with Susie Wolff.”

HANNAH

“When I found out I won my ticket to attend the Autosport Awards I was really excited. F1 ACADEMY and Formula 1 are a long- term passion of mine and seeing the people I have watched on TV is a dream come true for me.

“I have been a fan of F1 ACADEMY since the beginning of 2023, just about three years now. I think it’s amazing that young female drivers are being given the opportunity to succeed in their childhood dreams and breaking the gender barrier within motorsport.

READ MORE: Audi Team Principal Wheatley shares his hopes for Felbermayr’s second F1 ACADEMY campaign

“Watching the Autosport Awards was a dream come true for me. Seeing some of my favourite drivers up close and also being in an atmosphere filled with other Formula 1 and F1 ACADEMY fans was super cool and exciting. I enjoyed the evening so much. I've been trying to get tickets for Silverstone and China, my home Grand Prix, but I have had no luck so far, so seeing some drivers made me feel super happy as I had assumed that I won’t be able to see them in person this season.”