Celebrating Those Who Go Above and Beyond – The Mahindra Rise Award

At the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Pre-Season Testing event in Valencia, Dilbagh Gill awarded Formula E’s Margot McMillen with the Mahindra Rise Award for 2020. But what exactly is the Mahindra Rise Award, and who else has picked up this accolade?

What is the Mahindra Rise Award?

In July 2017, at the end of Season 3, we introduced the Mahindra Rise Award. The accolade was to be presented at the End of Season Awards Ceremony on behalf of teams and manufacturers to someone within the Formula E community who we recognised as contributing enormously to the series. This person is someone who is perhaps not necessarily externally recognised for their efforts – but should be!

Past Winners

In 2017 Westbury Gillett, Series Director of Formula E broadcasts since the championship’s inception was the recipient of the first ever Mahindra Rise Award. He was awarded for the hard work that went into creating the innovative TV product that is viewed around the globe.

The 2018 winner was Manolo Ortiz Tallo, who is responsible for the organisation of each Formula E race in his role as Head of Events. He plays an imperative role in track builds at each location.

Last year Alberto Longo received the award on stage at the End of Season Awards Ceremony in New York.  Alberto is a Co-Founder and Chief Championship Officer for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and is a lynchpin of the series, including holding overall responsibility for cities and event builds. 

This Year’s Winner

Margot is one of the leaders in event management at Formula E. Her background is in motorsport and she was working in Italy for several years as a championship sporting coordinator before joining Formula E from the very start. 

Her main role is as an event director for races – a highly crucial position. Organised, straightforward and caring, Margot recently took on a huge new challenge in the world of Formula E. She devised and implemented the COVID protocol for the six races in Berlin in August and has continued her work onwards to allow us to return to racing.

When presenting Margot’s award, Dilbagh stated: “This past year has been extremely challenging and I must say, on behalf of all teams and manufacturers, a huge than you to everybody at Formula E. 

Since Season 3 we have been paying recognition to the special work that goes on. This year when you look back at it we have to look at Berlin. That was an event that was extraordinarily difficult and extraordinarily special. This person kept everyone safe. All of us applaud Margot for the immense work she has done this year to allow us to go back racing. For her to receive this award is so well deserved.”

All of our winners go above and beyond for the successful running of our sport and deserve recognition comparable to that given to drivers and teams. We are proud to work alongside them!