INTERVIEW: Elias Adestam speaks about his charity work

Elias Adestam has recently been announced as the 2022 GB4 driver with Fortec Motorsports. On top of his fantastic work with his racing, the 15-year-old has also taken the time to create his own charity.

The charity was created in spring 2021 and is called ‘Raising Against Cancer’. The charity aims to raise money for cancer research projects. The Checkered Flag caught up with Elias Adestam about his charity. 

Why did you start the charity? 

“Everyone knows someone that has been affected by cancer. My grandmother got multiple cancer types at the same time. Thanks to good care she is doing fine now. I want more people to be able to say, “I defeated cancer”. Just like my grandmother has done 2 times now.”

What is the purpose of the charity? 

“The aim is to help as many people as possible who is fighting against cancer. As of now we have a close relationship and partnership with the children’s cancer centre at the Karolinska Health Institute. We want to help the children there as much as humanly possible.”

Who is involved with the charity? 

“Right now, me and my dad is administering the charity. But we have a partnership with Karolinska Health Institute.”

What is your ambition with the charity? 

“The ultimate goal is to help as many people as possible and have no child suffering from cancer. To begin with we aim to brighten their day as much as we can.”

How can we donate to the charity? 

As of now Swedish residents can send money through the application “Swish”. Swish-Number: 123 324 65 68. If you reside outside of Sweden, contact us on our e-mail and we can figure out a solution: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In addition to his charity, Adestam also takes every opportunity he can to help people. The 15-year-old has pledged to donate any money raised in the GB4 championship to the victims of war in Ukraine. In addition to this generous donation, he has also pledged to match any money earned in order to double the overall donation.

Speaking to The Checkered Flag about his generosity, Adestam informed us about the reasons why he chose to donate his money. 

Why did you decide to donate to the Ukraine crisis? 

“The horrific videos and photos of the war really tied a knot in my stomach. I just want to help the victims of the war.”

What is the purpose of donating the money?

“I want to help the people get clothes, food, water and other human necessities that will help save lives.”

What do you hope your donations achieve? 

“I hope that they will save lives and also make their lives easier in dire times.”

Adestam’s generosity is shared throughout his motorsports career. The drawing applied on the inside of Adestam’s wing end plate (Pictured below) is created by one of the children receiving treatment for cancer. 

Elias’ charity tribute on the inside wing end plate of his car – Credit to: Mattias Persson

This is just one of many drawings that Elias had on his car during the 2021 season. Elias’ father, Rickard, commented “It’s a good way to bring joy to children in a tough situation.” 

Adestam also raced with an F1 tribute helmet at the end of the 2020 season – “a historical tribute to future lives”. 

The helmet (pictured below) is tributed to the five Swedes who stood on the podium in Formula One and whose history now shows the way in the most important race of all. 

Elias’ tribute helmet to Swedish F1 drivers

The drivers that inspired the helmet design are Joakim Bonnier, Reine Wisell, Ronnie Peterson, Gunnar Nilsson, and Stefan Johansson. The helmet design is based on the helmets that these Swedish drivers wore.

The helmet is now being auctioned on Elias’ website (link to the auction below) in order to raise money for the Gunnar Nilsson’s Cancer Foundation.

Auction Link: http://www.adestam.se/auktion

Adestam is now looking ahead to the GB4 2022 season which commences on April 2, 2022 at Snetterton Circuit.