Racing Pride were excited to recognise Southampton University Formula Student Team’s promotion of diversity and inclusion, with an Award presented in partnership with Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team, Aston Martin Lagonda, and Formula Student. 2024 marks the third year of the award, which was presented at the Formula Student 2024 Awards evening at Silverstone by Richard Morris (Racing Pride CEO), Carys Conlon (Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team member and Racing Pride Ambassador), Matthew Harriet Randall (Aston Martin Lagonda and Racing Pride), Megan Green (Aston Martin Lagonda), and Natalie Salmon (Aston Martin Lagonda). Alongside Southampton taking the Award, both Edinburgh University Formula Student Team and Formula Sheffield were highly commended for their efforts.

The Award was judged by the internal diversity & inclusion networks at Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team and Aston Martin Lagonda, with the intention of celebrating the Formula Student team which has done the most to promote diversity & inclusion across the board, including, but not limited to, for the LGBTQ+ community. By recognising and rewarding a team in this way, the Award also aspires to encourage all Formula Student teams to reflect on how they can expand their own diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Students represent an essential demographic of the future of the industry, so encouraging them to incorporate practices which champion diversity and inclusion at this early stage is essential for the sector at large.

The winning team from Southampton University received an incredibly exciting prize: they were invited for behind-the-scenes experiences at both the Aston Martin Racing Technology Campus and Aston Martin’s Gaydon Headquarters.  Racing Pride Ambassador Carys Conlon guided the group’s visit to Aston Martin’s new state of the art F1 facility at Silverstone. The students had the opportunity to meet and speak with members from across the Aston Martin team, while seeing the processes involved in manufacturing a Formula One car.  Another exciting opportunity meant the students could learn about the work being done by designers at Aston Martin Lagonda’s headquarters in Gaydon, with a rare opportunity to see inside the top secret design studio.

The judges were impressed by the breadth and depth of initiatives conducted by the Southampton University Formula Student team, with some highlights being:

• A focus on induction training and continued upskilling meaning that everyone can contribute and learn
• 2-person dedicated Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Team
• Their carefully and ethically designed internal survey showed 20 different nationalities, 44% from ethnic minority groups, 23% identifying as neurodiverse, and 25% first-generation students
• Comprehensive internal EDI measures including: training for committee leads, attending talks and events, inviting expert perspectives, signposting cost-of-living resources, facilitating the use of preferred names and pronouns, and creating a welfare hub.
• Outreach initiatives including collaboration with the National Motor Museum to develop resources for key stage 3 & 4 students
• Future plans including the integration of audio description to improve access to materials for team members

This year’s Award attracted the most entries to date, with interest among student teams rising in each of the three years in which the Award has run. The increasingly competitive nature of the Award, with high-quality and thorough entries, demonstrates the way in which it is encouraging student teams to do more in this vital area for the future of our sport and industry.