FIA CHAMPIONS HONOURED IN RECORD-BREAKING MOTOR SPORT YEAR

At the yearly Prize Giving Ceremony held at the Fiera di Bologna in the beautiful Emilia-Romagna area of Italy, the FIA champions were recognized.

The dinner, which was hosted by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, served as an appropriate capstone to the FIA's Annual General Assembly Week and the 2022 racing season.

The Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI), the Regione Emilia-Romagna, the Italian Trade Agency, and business partners Rolex, Hankook, Brembo, Marelli, OMP, and Bell all provided support for the event.

A 1,000-person crowd celebrated the best athletes and races of 2022 while also honoring the personalities, upcoming talents, and fallen members of the motorsports community. Derin Adetosoye, a presenter for Formula E, and Zoran Filicic, of Eurosport Italia, served as the evening's MCs.

The evening honored not only the world champions and their teams but also the other individuals who contribute to the success of the sport.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, said: “It is an honour that this 2022 edition, my first as FIA President, takes place in Bologna, at the heart of ‘Motor Valley’. It is a city and a region rich in motor sport and automotive history. My warmest thanks to the Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI), Regione Emilia-Romagna and the Italian Trade Agency for hosting us, and to our partners for their support.

“Tonight, we honour the stars of our sport – our World Champions, and I would also like to thank all the manufacturers, teams and promoters who provide such strong support. Most of all, I would like to thank the thousands of volunteers and marshals who freely dedicate their time to ensure the safety and success of events all over the world.

“This year we have taken significant steps forward on regulations and advanced technology, with the debut of the hybrid-powered Rally 1 category in WRC, a second successful year of the Hypercar category in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the dawn of the electric Rallycross era, the launch of the Formula E Gen3 car and approval by the FIA World Motor Sport Council of the 2026 F1 Power Unit Regulations.

“Across the entire FIA motor sport portfolio, we are promoting environmental sustainability – towards our goal of net-zero by 2030.”

The evening served as Max Verstappen's capstone performance in a season that set numerous records. The Dutchman set a new record for a single season with 15 victories. As he won his second consecutive world championship, he won two of the year's three Sprint races and accumulated the most points in a single season (454) in the history of the sport.

Verstappen stated after accepting the prize from FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem: “Your whole life you aim for the goal of being a World Champion, but this year we were more competitive and we won the Drivers’ and the Constructors’, so I would say this one is better than last year and more rewarding, but the first one is always more emotional.”

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari took home the second-place trophy, and Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez was awarded third.

Christian Horner, the team principal for Oracle Red Bull Racing, accepted the Constructors' title from Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.. “For nine years there was only one manufacturer on this trophy. It’s been the most incredible year for the team. We’ve broken every record of our own. Tonight I’d like to dedicate this one to Dietrich Mateschitz.”

The FIA World Rally Championship recognized a few noteworthy firsts. The championship turned 50 years old, and to honor the milestone, switched to 100% fossil-free fuel and hybrid power.

The day after turning 22, Kalle Rovanperä of Finland and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen won the race, making them the youngest WRC champions ever. Sébastien Loeb presented the award to the countrymen, who accepted it. Says Rovanperä “It has been an amazing season, especially getting the first title is always the most difficult one to cope with the pressure. This season was really good for us, with new Rally1 cars and the hybrid system, and we were quick to learn the car and strongly on the pace. We didn’t expect it to happen so soon but we were always pushing, and I don’t think that I’m young when I’m in the car, I just try to do the best possible.”

Jari-Matti Latvala, team principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing, accepted the Manufacturers' trophy.

In the inaugural season of the category's all-electric era, Sweden's Johan Kristoffersson won his fifth FIA World Rallycross Championship. “This title definitely means a little bit extra. It’s the first electric championship format this year, which is new for rallycross,” he said. “And also this car we have built ourselves at home with my family team, so to take that car and follow every step and being able to win the championship was definitely something extra.”

Timmy Hansen, the 2019 champion, finished in second place, ahead of Niclas Grönholm of Finland. Tommy Kristoffersson of Kristoffersson Motorsport received the Teams award.

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Drivers' trophy was given to Belgian driver Stoffel Vandoorne on stage before Mitch Evans of Jaguar Racing and Edoardo Mortara of ROKIT Venturi Racing. Added Vandoorne: “It’s not every year you have the opportunity to win a world championship, so I’m obviously very pleased and happy I managed to win this year in the final season for Mercedes as well. With Mercedes EQ we had an incredible journey together and to finish it off with a world championship title is something special.”

The Teams’ award was collected by Mercedes-EQ Team Principal Ian James.

The Toyota team of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ry Hirakawa received the FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar trophy from nine-time Le Mans champion Tom Kristensen.

Considering how closely the match was contested, Buemi stated: “We had to fight. It was a pretty short championship, and with the DNF in Spa, it was difficult to recover. From then on, we had to make sure we didn’t make any mistakes, and obviously winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Fuji put us back in the championship. At the end we did well. It was good to win the championship again.”

For Toyota Gazoo Racing, which won four of the six Hypercar rounds, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, Kamui Kobayashi accepted the Manufacturers' award.

Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado won the LMGTE Pro championship for the second year in a row, and thanks to their three victories, Ferrari won the Manufacturers' title for the same period. Head of Ferrari GT Sporting Activities Antonello Coletta accepted the prize and said the following: “We’re very happy to finish the 10-year cycle of the LMGTE Pro category with seven Manufacturers’ titles, five Drivers’ titles and four 24 Hours of Le Mans victories. We celebrate all of these and now we concentrate on the future.”

On hand to present the award to the inaugural FIA Rally-Raid world champions – Nasser Al-Attiyah and Matthieu Baumel – was 14-time Dakar Rally winner Stéphane Peterhansel. Al-Attiyah said: “I was the last driver to win the World Cup so my dream was also to win the new cross-country title. After five times doing the World Cup, I really pushed to have the World Rally-Raid Championship title.”

Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Dirk Von Zitzewitz lost out on the second-place trophy to Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin, while Toyota Gazoo Racing won the Manufacturers' Cup.

Brazilian Felipe Drugovich, the FIA Formula 2 champion, assisted MP Motorsport in winning the Teams' title. Team Principal Sandor Dorsman accompanied Drugovich on stage to accept their prizes from Stefano Domenicali. Victor Martins of France won the F3 championship, and René Rosin of Prema Racing accepted the Teams trophy on his behalf.

The stars of tomorrow, the FIA Karting World Champions, arrived in the form of Sweden's Viktor Gustafsson, Brazil's Matheus Morgatto (OK Junior), and Thailand's Enzo Tarnvanichkul (OK) (KZ). The silverware was given by Max Verstappen.

A number of other honors were given out in addition to the championship titles being confirmed.

Drivers who had recently finished their inaugural season in an FIA championship were chosen to represent the organization as the FIA Rookie of the Year. Previous winners include Charles Leclerc, Alex Albon, and Yuki Tsunoda. Oscar Piastri, a driver who will join the F1 grid in 2023, won the prize the previous year.

Zane Maloney of Barbados was chosen as the 2022 winner by the FIA Drivers' Commission judging panel. Maloney won the British F4 championship in 2019 and placed second in the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2022. Leclerc was present to give the prize. “It’s an honour to be standing here next to Charles. I hope I can be as good as him one day,” Maloney said.

The FIA's army of volunteers and officials makes up the backbone of the sport, even though the drivers and teams may receive most of the attention. The FIA Volunteers and Officials Commission (VOC) recognized Filiberto Loranca Maraón of Mexico as the Outstanding Official of the Year among the recipients of the 2022 Volunteers and Officials Awards.

From 1986 until 1992, Filiberto worked as a marshal in Mexico during the Formula 1 era. Since 2015, he has served as the Race Intervention Chief Marshal for the Mexican Grand Prix's contemporary incarnation. He served as a Clerk of the Course in 2022.

Abdulaziz Al-Thawadi, the head of the FIA Volunteers and Officials Commission, gave Filiberto his honor.

Italy won the 2022 FIA Motorsport Games with three gold and one silver medal. The trophy was accepted that evening by KCMG Formula 4 Cup champion Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Automobile Club d'Italia President Angelo Sticchi Damiani.

The FIA Action of the Year award honors the most spectacular moments from the previous racing season and is the sole honor of the evening chosen by FIA.com users worldwide. Fans could vote for their favorite action from the following FIA championships: FIA Formula 3 Championship, FIA World Rallycross Championship, FIA European Rally Championship, FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup, FIA Formula One World Championship, ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship, and FIA WEC.

Lewis Hamilton of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team won the award in 2022 for his breathtaking overtaking maneuver on Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc during the British Grand Prix.

Motor racing has always been a catalyst for good change, from making roads safer through the development of disc brakes or sturdier crash structures to the enormous advances in efficiency that we have seen with the hybrid engines of Formula 1.

That goal still stands today, and FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has established the FIA President Innovation Medal to recognize the best technological advancements in motorsport. Gordon Murray was given that honor in 2022 for his ongoing commitment to innovation in both race and road car design.

The FIA Founding Members Club Heritage Cup honors the occasions, personalities, and locations integral to the development of automobile and motorsport. The presidents of seven driving clubs gathered in Germany in 1904 to unite their passion for cars and motorsport into an international association, which developed into the FIA that we know today.

Along with organizations from Germany, Britain, France, Austria, the USA, and the Netherlands, Italy was one of the founding members of the FIA. Angelo Sticchi Damiani of ACI gave the award to Benedetto Camerana who accepted it on behalf of his nation.

An emotional family portrait and a standing ovation for each of the 2022 champions and category winners brought an end to the occasion and the exciting year in motorsport.

2022 FIA PRIZE GIVING | CHAMPIONS & AWARD WINNERS

FIA MOTORSPORT GAMES
ITALY

MONDOKART.COM FIA KARTING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – OK
MATHEUS MORGATTO

MONDOKART.COM  FIA KARTING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – OK-JUNIOR
ENZO TARNVANICHKUL

MONDOKART.COM FIA KARTING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – KZ
VIKTOR GUSTAFSSON

FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP FOR DRIVERS
VICTOR MARTINS

FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP FOR TEAMS
PREMA RACING

FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP FOR DRIVERS
FELIPE DRUGOVIC

FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP FOR TEAMS
MP MOTORSPORT

FIA WORLD RALLY RAID-CHAMPIONSHIP FOR DRIVERS
NASSER AL-ATTIYAH

FIA WORLD RALLY RAID-CHAMPIONSHIP FOR CO-DRIVERS
MATHIEU BAUMEL

FIA WORLD RALLY-RAID CHAMPIONSHIP FOR TEAMS
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING

FIA OUTSTANDING OFFICIAL OF THE YEAR
FILIBERTO LORANCA MARAÑÓN

FIA FOUNDING MEMBERS' CLUB HERITAGE CUP
ACI SPORT

FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR DRIVERS
JOHAN KRISTOFFERSSON

FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR TEAMS
KRISTOFFERSSON MOTORSPORT

FIA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
ZANE MALONEY

ABB FIA FORMULA E WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FOR DRIVERS
STOFFEL VANDOORNE

ABB FIA FORMULA E WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MANUFACTURERS
MERCEDES-EQ

FIA ACTION OF THE YEAR
LEWIS HAMILTON

FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP LMGTE FOR DRIVERS
ALESSANDRO PIER GUIDI & JAMES CALADO

FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP LMGTE FOR MANUFACTURERS
FERRARI

FIA HYPERCAR WORLD ENDURANCE DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
BRENDON HARTLEY, RYŌ HIRAKAWA & SÉBASTIEN BUEMI

FIA HYPERCAR WORLD ENDURANCE MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
TOYOTA

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP FOR DRIVERS
KALLE ROVANPERÄ

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP FOR CO-DRIVERS
JONNE HALTTUNEN

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MANUFACTURERS
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING

FIA PRESIDENT’S INNOVATION AWARD
GORDON MURRAY

FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
MAX VERSTAPPEN

FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
ORACLE RED BULL RACING

Click here to see the event image gallery.

This is a summary of an article off the FIA website, you can see the original version here.