Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex chat to McLaren’s Lando Norris at British Grand Prix at Silverstone

Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex shared a joke with British Formula One ace Lando Norris during a visit to Silverstone ahead of the British Grand Prix today.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex stopped by the McLaren garage to thank the team for supporting the Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) award.

Before the start of the race, the royal couple chatted with Norris and fellow driver Daniel Ricciardo.

McLaren is joining forces with the DofE to encourage the public to take part in the charity’s new fundraising challenge – Do It 4 Youth. 

The Earl and Countess of Wessex stopped by the McLaren garage at Silverstone today to thank the team for supporting the Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) award today

Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex shared a joke with British Formula One ace Lando Norris

The initiative aims to raise money to enable a million more young people from deprived communities take part in the awards scheme, regardless of their background.

Sophie, 56, looked elegant in a long white dress with a vibrant red pattern, teamed with white wedges and a pair of sunglasses, while Edward, 57, donned a pale blue shirt with cream chinos and a check blazer. 

Norris said: ‘At McLaren we share many of the same values as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, with teamwork, commitment, resilience and self-belief important to our success as a team, so it’s great to be working together.’

Both the McLaren cars featured the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award logo during the British Grand Prix weekend.

McLaren is joining forces with the DofE to encourage the public to take part in the charity’s new fundraising challenge – Do It 4 Youth

 Norris said: ‘At McLaren we share many of the same values as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, with teamwork, commitment, resilience and self-belief important to our success as a team, so it’s great to be working together’

Sophie, 56, looked elegant in a long white dress with a vibrant red pattern, teamed with white wedges and a pair of sunglasses, while Edward, 57, donned a pale blue shirt with cream chinos and a check blazer

Both the McLaren cars featured the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award logo during the British Grand Prix weekend

The Earl and Countess of Wessex speak with Mark Norris during a visit to the McLaren team garage at the British Grand Prix 

The driver added: ‘I’m excited to get involved in this new challenge, Do It 4 Youth, and encourage others to take part.

‘The past year has been difficult for so many young people, so this is a great way to get active, challenge yourself and raise important funds to help more young people discover their strengths and support physical and mental wellbeing.’

Norris was recently joined at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking by a group of local young people who are taking part in the DofE.

They toured the facility before taking part in a pit-stop tyre-changing challenge which inspires teamwork and resilience to help them ‘skill up’ – one of the key challenges of the Do It 4 Youth campaign.

The initiative aims to encourage the public to take on one of four challenges – physical, learning a skill, giving something up or volunteering – and complete it over four weeks and raise money for charity. 

Norris was recently joined at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking by a group of local young people who are taking part in the DofE

They toured the facility before taking part in a pit-stop tyre-changing challenge which inspires teamwork and resilience to help them ‘skill up’ – one of the key challenges of the Do It 4 Youth campaign

The initiative aims to encourage the public to take on one of four challenges – physical, learning a skill, giving something up or volunteering – and complete it over four weeks and raise money for charity

Ruth Marvel, the DofE’s chief executive officer, said: ‘It is 65 years since His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh founded the charity and the DofE has had a huge positive impact on millions of lives.

‘We want to continue to build on that legacy ensuring every young person, especially those from the toughest backgrounds, can take part in the DofE.’

The race was red flagged before the end of the first lap when Lewis Hamilton collided with close rival Max Verstappen, sending the Red Bull driver careering into the tyre wall.

Hamilton received a 10 second penalty for the incident and is currently trailing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.