Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda raise thousands for charity in auction

16:41, 04 Nov

Updated: 19:08, 04 Nov

byDrew Murphy

Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda have donated their Japanese Grand Prix race suits to raise £83,500 for charity at a recent auction.

Raising money for Wings for Life’s Spinal Cord Research, the Red Bull duo has auctioned off their one-off white Honda livery race suits.

F1 Authentics auctioned off the suits, raising vital funds to aid Wing for Life’s incredible work.

Wings for Life is Oracle Red Bull Racing’s partner charity. It is a not-for-profit internationally recognised foundation for spinal cord injury research.

Yuki Tsunoda at the Japanese Grand Prix. Photo: RacePictures

100% of the money raised by the auction goes directly into research projects and clinical trials to help find a cure for spinal cord injury.

The unique design on Red Bull’s race suits pays homage to the 60th anniversary of Honda’s first win in Formula 1.

Both drivers achieved symbolic milestones whilst wearing the race suits: Verstappen claimed victory in Suzuka, making him the only driver ever to win four consecutive Japanese Grand Prix.

Tsunoda had been promoted to the team ahead of the Grand Prix, which made his home race his first drive for Oracle Red Bull Racing, and he was also awarded ‘Driver of the Day’ by fans post-race.

Barry Gough, Founder & CEO of Memento Exclusives (F1 Authentics) commented: “We are thrilled to have raised an incredible amount through these auctions which will be donated to Wings for Life.

“Having supported the charity for many years, we are delighted to continue to help fund the invaluable work that they do.”

Laurent Mekies, CEO & team principal of Red Bull said: “It’s great that the unique Japan livery race suits, a symbol of our incredible partnership with Honda, have gone on to raise funds of which the total amount will support Wings for Life’s groundbreaking research to find a cure for spinal cord injury.”

Max Verstappen's Japanese Grand Prix race suit. Photo: Memento Exclusives

Emma Hind, CEO Wings for Life UK, said: “We are incredibly grateful to F1 Authentics and Oracle Red Bull Racing for their generous support of the recent race suits auctions.

“Raising £83,500 for Wings for Life is a significant amount of money and will make a huge contribution to spinal cord injury research.”

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