Four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel will join F1 journalist Tom Clarkson to run the London Marathon to raise money for the Grand Prix Trust and the Brain & Spine Foundation.
Vettel, who retired from F1 at the end of the 2022 season, will join Clarkson along with the journalist’s son and daughter.
The Brain & Spine Foundation was founded by former F1 safety and medical delegate Professor Sidney Watkins and neurosurgeon Peter Hamlyn in 1992. The charity aims to improve “the prevention, treatment and care of people affected by disorders of the brain and spine.”
The Grand Prix Trust was founded by Sir Jackie Stewart in the 1980s to support those no longer in F1 who need help. Former driver and Sky Sports F1 analyst Martin Brundle took over from Stewart as chairman of the Grand Prix Trust in 2016 after previously serving as a trustee from 1996.
“I took over from Sir Jackie Stewart as the chairman of trustees a year or so back,” Brundle told Motor Sport in 2018. “Jackie started this in the 1980s; it was called the Grand Prix Mechanics Trust back then. We dropped ‘mechanic’ from the name because in Formula 1 parlance these days there is no category of a mechanic today.
“We like to help people out where we can – people who fall on hard times due to their health or other issues like financial issues.
“Over 150 teams have gone broke in Formula 1, and a lot of people say ‘but F1 is so rich, why do you need to help people out in F1?’ Well, of course, the current teams are rich, and there are 10 of them with HR departments, but I’m surprised today how many people we help when they get into some problems that are beyond the remit and resource of an F1 team human resource department.
Tom Clarkson, FIA Press Conference host
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
“But fundamentally, we’re there for the stalwarts and the pioneers of yesteryear. In the 67-year history of F1, as I said, more than 150 teams have gone out of business there were no pensions, health care plans, and all of that back in those days, and Jackie was absolutely right to start this up.
“We’ve helped a lot of people over the course of time.”
The 2026 London Marathon will take place on Sunday 26 April.
We want your opinion!
– The Motorsport.com Team