Following the sad news of the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96 last Thursday (8th September), the motorsport community has responded with tributes at race events and on social media to Britain's longest serving monarch, who had only just recently marked her Platinum Jubilee in June this year to commemorate 70 years on the throne.
Formula 1 marked her passing with a minute's silence for all teams prior to the start of practice on Friday for the weekend's Italian Grand Prix in Monza. The weekend's race, which proceeded as planned, was naturally more subdued in light of current events, which saw Team Red Bull's Max Verstappen finish in pole position with a race time of 1:20:27.511 to further increase his lead in the current season-to-date standings for the World Championship.
Team McLaren posted on their Twitter account as the news broke on Thursday evening, saying "The team at McLaren Racing mourn the sad passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, whilst also remembering her incredible reign. Our thoughts are with The Royal Family and people around the world during this terribly sad time." They also shared an archive shot of Her Majesty opening their McLaren Technology Centre factory in May 2004.
Team Mercedes driver George Russell, writing on his Twitter account, said: "I'm so sad to hear about the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Her devotion to our country and her gracious leadership were inspirational to so many generations of people in the UK and around the world.
In a statement to the media, Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said: "Formula 1 mourns the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. For more than seven decades she dedicated her life to public service with dignity and devotion and inspired so many around the world. Formula 1 sends its deepest condolences to the Royal Family and to the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth."
From all of us at TrackDays, we would like to express our sadness at the news of the passing of Her Majesty. She served our country and the Commonwealth graciously, with duty and with compassion and dignity for 70 years, and we send our condolences to The Royal Family at this sad time.