The Mayor of Milton Keynes, Brian White, recently presented the Freedom of the Borough to Infiniti Red Bull Racing for the “significant impact it has had on the Milton Keynes economy”, and for bringing “positive attention to the borough on an international scale with its repeated F1 success”. In return, the council received an FI car nose cone.

Team principal Christian Horner said: “This is quite extraordinary, something that the whole team is tremendously proud of. Being based in Milton Keynes is a huge bonus for us, and the vast majority of our 600-string workforce live locally. In addition, so many suppliers associated with F1 are based in the area.”

Mayor White said: “One of the things that is really inspirational is the way that engineering has been given a boost; the kids want to be engineers again, thanks to the success of your team. The link you make to the skills of the future is an important part of the reason for this award of the Freedom of the Borough.”