Feeling at home starts from within – the story behind the sofa that brought people together at the British Grand Prix

Over British Grand Prix week, Aston Martin Aramco celebrated the many places F1 fans call home. At the heart of the campaign was the 'Feels like home' sofa: a safe, welcoming and visible space for meaningful conversations about inclusion, belonging, support and mental wellbeing, built around one simple idea: feeling at home starts from within. 

Home is often described as a place. But during British Grand Prix week, we explored it as something more personal: a feeling of comfort, connection and safety; the confidence to arrive exactly as you are and know that you belong.

For some, that feeling is found in the grandstands, in a group chat, on TikTok, at a local pub or among a community of fans. For others, it begins much closer to home: in the relationship we have with ourselves.

Because if someone does not feel at home in their own mind, it can be difficult to feel at home anywhere else.

That insight shaped the campaign and gave the sofa its purpose: to create a place where people could pause, sit down, open up, listen and be reminded that they are not alone. 

The 'Feels like home' sofa

The 'Feels like home' sofa is a safe, approachable and recognisable space where people could have honest conversations about wellbeing, belonging and support.

Created in partnership with YoungMinds, the sofa featured a design by acclaimed artist Bee, incorporating messages of hope, care and connection.

The campaign was also supported by Valvoline™ Global Operations, who hosted the sofa at I / AM House as part of its global programme to support young people’s mental health. To further back YoungMinds' vital work, Valvoline Global also matched Aston Martin Aramco's donation made to the charity, helping to strengthen the campaign's impact beyond the conversations themselves.

Starting at the AMR Technology Campus, the sofa travelled to the Valvoline Global garage at I / AM House in London before returning to our home at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix weekend. Across each location, it became a portable place of belonging: a space for young people, fans, team members and charity partners to talk openly about what feeling at home means to them.

YoungMinds ambassador Alfie Watts hosted the conversations, helping to guide each discussion with warmth and care. He was joined by people from YoungMinds, Racing Pride, The Aleto Foundation, Girls Across the Grid and Aston Martin Aramco. 

Each conversation offered a different perspective, but together they carried one powerful message: home can be a community, a conversation, an opportunity, or simply someone willing to listen. Scroll on for the key quotes.

Creating opportunities to belong

Megan, Racing Pride:

"Home is when I feel completely calm and recognised. It doesn't matter where I am, as long as I'm feeling seen, appreciated, and understood, I relax and feel at home and safe.

"I found F1 and absolutely loved it. It's strange because it's so fast-paced and thrilling, but I calm down when I'm around it.

"I like to champion inclusion a lot. I am a woman, I am queer, I am disabled; there's a lot that isn't quote unquote normal for an F1 fan about me, but I am normal and it's good to feel like that."

Sienne, Aston Martin Aramco: 

"I feel most at home when I'm active. Whether it's in the gym, hiking or playing sport, exercise gives me time to clear my mind.

"I notice the difference when I don't do it. It's so important for my mental health, and it's where I feel most confident and most like myself."

Savannah, Girls Across the Grid: 

"I remember going to my first Grand Prix and having an amazing time, but also feeling completely out of place. I looked around and wondered where my community was.

"When I found Girls Across the Grid, everything changed. Whether it's a racetrack I've never been to before or a country I've never visited, I know there'll be a friendly face waiting."

David Villa-Clarke, CEO, The Aleto Foundation:

"If you're not given the opportunity to communicate and talk to people about how you're feeling and some of the challenges you're facing, you will stay inside your head. 

"It is about having a level of open communication, finding people to talk to.

"I'm a firm believer that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. We work with Aston Martin Aramco to create those opportunities to give people who would not necessarily have them."

Hannah, student, The Aleto Foundation: 

"I've always struggled with imposter syndrome. I've always felt like I don't belong where I am, and I let myself be trod on all the time.

"The Aleto Foundation has opened a door for me. I went to them and I said, 'I've got the key, I just can't get through,' and they've helped me over the last eight months, and reminded me that I've got a voice in any room that I'm in, and I am confident." 

Rob Bloom, Chief Marketing Officer, Aston Martin Aramco: 

"The work that YoungMinds and some of our other charity partners, like The Aleto Foundation, are doing with young people to give them an opportunity is brilliant. Life is hard. Navigating this world is difficult. You need to be able to open up and have conversations and feel comfortable and safe, and at home, and have people around you supporting you, whether that's professional help, life coaching, therapy, or just with your friends."

A sofa designed for conversation

Artist Bee explained how sharing experiences is one of the most powerful ways to help people realise they are not alone and that, through the sofa's design, they wanted to leave people with reminders that they belong. 

"I thought I was the only person in the world going through the things I was going through. Once you've shared that with other people, and you can connect over shared experiences, it makes you feel so much lighter. 

"When you do open up to people about whatever it is you're going through, you can understand each other a little better, and that makes it so much easier to not feel such a heavy sense of shame about these things.

"I painted a series of different messages and affirmations around mental health. Hopefully the people that see it will realise that they aren't alone in whatever they're going through.

"There's no one singular definition of home, but wherever I'm making art feels most like home to me."

Feeling at home starts from within

The sofa reminded us that belonging looks different for everyone, and that support can begin with something as simple as a conversation.

Sometimes home is found in a crowd of F1 fans. Sometimes it is in a classroom, a workplace, a charity programme or a group of friends. Sometimes it is the moment someone sits beside you, listens, and helps you feel seen.

Home can be a place, a community or a person. But the first step to finding where you belong can start within: with confidence, connection and the belief that you are not alone.

To learn more about the work of YoungMinds, click here. 