The success of ZOOM is down to a very simple idea. The concept was created in 2011 by Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid, whose company Money Sport Media produces financial data about all aspects of F1. They realised that although there are many charity auctions in sport they all tend to follow a similar pattern.

The items on offer are usually signed photos of the athletes or signed kit that they use. They often raise a great deal of money but usually tell the buyer little about the sports star who signed them. ZOOM was created to rectify that by turning the tables and asking all the drivers and team principals in F1 to take photographs which would then be signed and put up for auction.

ZOOM is the first and only auction of signed photos taken by the stars of any sport. It is also one of very fewevents, except for a Grand Prix, which involves all of the teams and all of the drivers. They join forces in order to benefit a very worthwhile cause: raising money for charity. All the proceeds from the ZOOM auction go towards improving the lives of seriously ill children.

Supporting charity has long been a key part of F1 and is close to the heart of F1’s former chief executive Bernie Ecclestone. One of the most important steps in establishing ZOOM was getting Bernie’s support and the participation of all the drivers and team principals followed suit.

Christian has known Bernie for more than a decade and his support of ZOOM has been invaluable. Such has been the level of interest in it that former F1 drivers and champions, as well as commentators and designers, have also participated.

All the photographers put their heart into the challenge, resulting in a diverse collection of photos which show both insider views from the track and personal memories from outside the world of racing.

The photos take you on a journey through the lives of F1’s superstars. They give a window onto landscapes from the Lewis Hamilton’s shot of the sun setting over the Caribbean, to Fernando Alonso’s view from the window of a yellow cab in Times Square. The photos allow the public to see Nico Rosberg having fun behind the scenes with on-track rival Sebastian Vettel and include the first ever team principals selfie from McLaren’s Eric Boullier.

ZOOM is proud to have raised nearly £150,000 for charities and all of the F1 teams, team bosses and drivers play an essential part in making this happen. We sincerely thank them along with everyone else who has donated a photo to the project, our partners, and everyone else that has made ZOOM possible.