FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem names Gordon Murray as inaugural recipient of the FIA President Innovation Award

F1 and automotive design legend presented with new award at the 2022 FIA Prize Giving in Bologna

British design legend Gordon Murray has been named as the recipient of the new FIA President Innovations Award for 2022. 

The renowned Brabham and McLaren F1 designer was honoured with the award by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem at a star-studded annual FIA Prize Giving ceremony in Bologna for his services to motor sport and the automotive industry. 

The President’s Innovation Award has been established to recognise exceptional contributions to motor sport and mobility through technical and operational innovation and ingenuity and Murray was chosen as the award’s first recipient for his pioneering work in F1 and more recently his quest to develop sustainable forms of mobility. 

Presenting the inaugural award to Murray, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: I always say we have only reached where we have today and achieved what we have because we have history and we have a past. When you look at the innovation in the motor sport industry, and I’m not just talking about Formula 1, you see clever evolution that has really changed motor sport. That’s what keeps all of us striving to do better. It’s not only about what we have now, it’s about our heritage and what we will do in the future. I would like to congratulate Gordon for all he has achieved in the area of innovation and I look forward to what comes next. He is an inspiration to all of us.”

Professor Murray moved to the McLaren team in 1987 and was responsible for the creation of one of Formula 1’s most dominant cars – the all-conquering McLaren MP4/4. In the hands of F1 greats Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, the MP4/4 gave McLaren a record 15 wins from 16 races in 1988 and handed Senna his first Drivers’ Championship.

Following his highly successful career in Formula 1, the designer switched from track to road, moving to McLaren Cars, where he was responsible for the original concept of the famed McLaren F1 supercar, which featured many advanced technologies.  

After leaving McLaren, he founded Gordon Murray Design in 2007 to work on innovative and sustainable transport solutions, such as the Type 25 and Type 27 City Cars, but also extreme high-performance cars such as the Type 33 and Type 50.