Wishes granted at the Australian Grand Prix
In an Australian first, Make-A-Wish Australia teamed up with the Australian Grand Prix™ and Formula 1® to grant the wishes of 14 Wish Kids over 4 days!
In an Australian first, over four days (21 March to 24 March), nine Australian and five New Zealand Wish Kids shared in a once-in-a-lifetime experience as they had their wishes granted to have an exclusive motorsport adventure.
The Formula 1® superfans embarked on a VIP experience of driver and team meet and greets, pit walks, and exclusive behind-the-scenes tours.
Lights out and away we go
13-year-old Finn is amongst the group and had his wish granted on Thursday 21 March, when he met his idol, three-time World Champion, Max Verstappen.
Finn is obsessed with race cars, motorbikes, and anything to do with motorsports. He said it has been a dream of his to attend the Australian Grand Prix™ and get up close to the action.
Finn's dad Ross said Finn couldn't be happier with the experience, "I really want to thank Make-A-Wish for making Finn's dream come true, it's been a very memorable experience and definitely the highlight was seeing Finn's face when he met Max!", said Ross.
My love for the sport [F1] has grown so much and I think I even shed a little tear several times this weekend because I was so overwhelmed with joy. You guys are seriously miracle workers and literal genies and I will never be able to thank you enough for everything you've done for me this weekend!
Jemma, 18, "I wish to attend the Australian GP and meet Lando Norris"
Start your engines
Thursday also saw wishes come true for 18-year-old Alex and 17-year-old Jeremy as they get to meet their favourite driver – Australia’s own Oscar Piastri.
Across the day, other wish kids and families had the opportunity to meet Ferrari’s youngest ever Driver Oliver Bearman and Senior Performance Engineer and Formula 1® legend Jock Clear.
Jeremy who has a passion for all things motorsports said, “the Australian Grand Prix is the pinnacle of racing and I can’t believe I’m going to get to meet my favourite driver, Oscar Piastri.”
There on the track alongside Jeremy is mum Toni, who said it was amazing to have Jeremy well enough for the experience and to have the whole family there together.
"It's all just truly been incredible!" said Toni.
Speaking of incredible, in an exciting addition for Jeremy, he had the VIP opportunity to wave the flag to start the 3:35pm on Friday. Go Jeremy!
Tayla's wish for a journalist experience
For 21-year-old Tayla, her wish to have a ‘journalist experience during F1’ was also granted as she spent time with FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2024 official broadcast partner, Network10, experiencing exclusive behind the scenes access and a studio tour.
Tayla said she has grown up loving motorsports and comes from a family of car people, she sat in her first race car at only three years old.
“I stay up all night to watch the races around the world and am so excited to be attending my first ever Grand Prix!”
When the big day came, Tayla had a VIP experience where she toured the Channel 10 studio, getting a feel for what it would be like to be reporting from the track itself. As an exciting addition, Tayla also had the opportunity to interview Australian contemporary artist Werner Bronkhorst about his artwork which was moments away from being auctioned off in partnership with Porsche Australia, with all proceeds going to Make-A-Wish. What a team!
It was an incredible 4 days for all 14 wish kids and their families, creating memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you to Australian Grand Prix™ and Formula 1® and everyone involved in helping to make these wishes come true ⭐️
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