All eyes on Schumacher in charity campaign
The piercing eyes of Mercedes F1 driver Michael Schumacher are the focus of the 'Eyes on F1' campaign this week, as a signed, limited edition photograph goes on sale to raise money for the charity Sightsavers.
The seven-time world champion has joined a number of his contemporaries at the front of the F1 grid, including world champions Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, in having his eyes immortalised in a series of photographs for a campaign by the development charity, which hopes to highlight the importance of sight and the shocking fact that today there are 39 million people in the world who are blind.
Top professional sports photographer, Andrew Hone, is the man behind the striking photographs, which capture F1's most dominant and best-loved drivers trackside this season, and the snapper himself was shocked by the statistics.
"I treasure my sight and the amazing career it affords me," he admitted, "This collection of photographs focuses in on the racing drivers' eyes, highlighting the sense which they completely rely on to participate in this fast and dangerous sport."
From Monday [26 September] until Sunday 9 October, a signed version of the Schumacher photograph is available to win as a high quality limited edition print valued at over ?400 in a prize draw run by Sightsavers on Facebook (www.sightsavers.org/eyesonf1). Entry into the charity prize draw is simple, as bidders aged 16 and over place a ?1 'donation' and share with their friends on Facebook to gain free extra chances to win. There is a different picture up for grabs in the run-up to each of the remaining F1 races this season.
"Every pound that is donated by the public through our prize draw will make an incredible difference to someone living in a developing country", says Sightsavers CEO Caroline Harper, "For every ?1 ticket a person buys to enter the prize draw, Sightsavers could buy a pair of glasses to help someone see clearly again."
With Mark Webber's eyes having been the focus of a previous draw around the Italian GP, Schumacher kickstarts the final push for 2011, with images of Hamilton (Japan), Button (Korea), Vettel (India), Felipe Massa (Abu Dhabi) and Alonso (Brazil) coinciding with the remaining races this season.
