The Rt Hon Lord Drayson of Kensington, presents award during Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) reception for parliamentary and industry leaders at the House of Lords
The exceptional motorsport engineering career of Sir Patrick Head was recognised by the MIA at the House of Lords yesterday evening (30 June 2015), with the presentation of their Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Motorsport Industry.
This prestigious award was presented by the Rt Hon Lord Drayson of Kensington, at the MIA’s annual summer reception, where 300 guests from government, parliament and the global motorsport industry were hosted by the MIA as it also celebrated its 21st Birthday.
Sir Patrick enjoyed a 45 year career in motorsport, during which time his cars won 114 Grands Prix, nine Formula One Constructors’ and seven Drivers’ World Championships and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
As co-founder and technical director of WilliamsFormula One, Sir Patrick led the team, alongside Sir Frank Williams through its most successful period to date, and he was also personally responsible for many innovations within Formula One.
His legacy is that he initiated the successful motorsport careers of many engineers, which include multiple Formula One Constructors Championship winners, Ross Brawn and Adrian Newey.
Sir Patrick joins an elite group of previous MIA Award winners, including Malcolm Wilson OBE; Ron Dennis CBE; John Surtees OBE; Adrian Newey OBE; Ross Brawn OBE; Sir Frank Williams CBE; Sir Stirling Moss OBE; Sir Jackie Stewart OBE and Bernie Ecclestone.
On winning his award, Sir Patrick said: “This award is much appreciated and it comes as a huge surprise. I have had the opportunity to work with some fantastic people, some fantastic engineers, in my career. Quite often people are surprised because I’m not even the slightest bit interested in cars, I’m not sure I’m even that interested in race cars but I’m very interested in engineering and I’ve always been fascinated in the process behind race cars and working with other engineers to get things sorted and get them working. I must say thank you very much to all of you for this award, it is a great privilege to accept it.”
Chris Aylett, CEO of the MIA, added: “Sir Patrick is the perfect winner of this Award on the MIA’s 21st birthday. His determination to win, and technical leadership in seeking every advantage, has inspired generations of the very best engineers in motorsport. His contribution has literally changed the face of motorsport for the better, from which many have benefited. An outstanding individual in every way”
To find out more about the MIA and its programme of events, please visit www.the-mia.com.
