World Photography Day: Our Top 5 Photos of the Season

There's no shortage of stuff to see at a Formula 1 event, and that means there's no shortage of stuff to photograph. So, to mark World Photography Day 2023, we sat down with Williams Racing Photographer Richard Pardon, and asked him to pick out his five favourite shots from the season so far...

A lot of photography comes down to opportunity; making sure you’re in the right place, at the right time.

There’s nothing special about the way this photograph is taken, but having done my research and knowing where the sun will set, I chose an afternoon session to head to the castle section of Azerbaijan.

It’s hard to withhold your excitement as Formula 1 cars navigate the narrow walls with millimetre precision heading into the sunset. You know it’s going to be a good shot before you’ve even taken it.

A night in the museum with all of the Silverstone GP winners. Moments like this, growing up as a kid watching Formula 1, I would never expect to happen.

With all the lights off, we’re able to get creative and light-paint the car. With a long-shutter, passing a light over the car continuously illuminates the car. Four or five passes in different directions to light different areas of the car, we can create shape with highlight and shadow.

This is one of my favourite areas of photography, where the only limit is your creativity.

It’s hard to portray just how fast these cars are in a still image, but the closer you look, the greater the story.

Turn four at the Hungaroring, more than 150 mph, and sparks pour from the underside of the car as it touches the kerb.

Look closer and the outside tyre is being visibly pulled from the rim due to the high cornering load. These machines are wild.

Not all images are beautiful or perfect.

Our job as photographers is to capture and tell a story. It’s a moment in time that won't happen ever again.

After a gruelling race, Logan was forced to retire the car one lap from the end. Hugely frustrating, as he had great pace all race long. He climbed out of the car and took a moment to reflect, consoled by a passing team member.

Formula 1 is a team sport. Naturally there’s a lot focus on the drivers, but what amazed me when I joined was just how close the team work together.

This is a moment during the Melbourne Grand Prix as all of the mechanics walk out into the pit-lane ready to service the car in under 3 seconds. For me, there’s a weird sense of calm in this image, before the frantic nature of a pitstop.