Highlights of the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed

The 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed was one of the hottest yet – in more ways than one as even some of the straw bales caught alight! – and brought an unprecedented number of Formula 1 machines together.

Celebrating 75 years of the F1 world championship for drivers was central to the overall theme of ‘The Winning Formula – Champions and Challengers’ but virtually all forms of motorsport were represented, from rallying to sportscars via motorbikes and drifting, as well as road machines, some of which had not been seen in public before.

As usual, there were also many big names, including great drivers, riders and designers. Picking out all the possible high points is almost impossible, but here are some of the things that stood out over four special days.

F1 champions take centre stage…

Seven F1 world champions, with 14 titles between them, stole the show on Saturday. Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Jacques Villeneuve and Mika Hakkinen were all interviewed by Karun Chandhok on the balcony of Goodwood House above a big crowd after a remarkable cavalcade…

Sir Jackie’s sons Paul and Mark Stewart drove from the startline to the house in the championship-winning Tyrrell 003 and 006 chassis, and were followed by Fittipaldi in a Lotus 72, Andretti in a Lotus 79, then Villeneuve in an ex-Niki Lauda 1974 Ferrari 312B3, Mansell in his 1986 Williams FW11, Prost in his championship-winning MP4/2B and Hakkinen in the McLaren MP4-13 that took him to his first title in 1998.

The drivers were also joined on the balcony by Bernie Ecclestone and McLaren boss Zak Brown. All spoke about the event, their memories and, in some cases, each other, with the biggest cheer going to crowd-pleaser Mansell.

The following day Mansell got back behind the wheel of his title-winning FW14B, which was also driven by his 1992 team-mate Riccardo Patrese over the weekend.

…before Prost steals the show on Sunday

Alain Prost, McLaren during his balcony moment

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey / LAT Images via Getty Images

As well as driving the MP4/2B and the McLaren MP4/4 he took to three of his seven grand prix victories in 1988, Prost got his own moment on the balcony on Sunday.

Having led son Nicolas, driving the Renault RE40 in which Alain narrowly missed out on the 1983 crown, up the hill, Prost drove the MP4/4 to the house before handing his gloves to a lucky young fan. The four-time world champion then joined Chandhok on the balcony – and was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of designer John Barnard, who penned the MP4/2.

“It’s very nice to drive these cars with all my old engineers and mechanics – and other drivers – around us,” said 51-time F1 winner Prost, now 70. “We share this passion of motor racing.”

“He was fantastic with tyres,” said Barnard. “Quite often he’d run the first 10 laps easy and we’d think, ‘What’s he doing?’ and then he’d work his way up as everyone wrecked their tyres.

“For me, 1984-86 were probably the best years in racing.”

Prost’s moment concluded with the Red Arrows flying over, trailing the colours of the French Tricolore behind them.

An F1 extravaganza

#473 Haas F1 Team Ferrari VF-23. Oliver Bearman

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey / LAT Images via Getty Images

Split across six classes – ‘The Prologue’ (for pre-world championship contenders), ‘The Pioneers’, ‘The Innovators’, ‘The Underdogs’, ‘The Champions’ and ‘The Teams’ – the F1 75 collection numbered over 100 cars and pretty much covered any fan’s favourites.

Jacky Ickx drove the Brabham BT26A that he used to win the 1969 Canadian GP and Villeneuve enjoyed a run in a Williams FW07, which his father Gilles raced against, while Felipe Massa saddled the F2008 in which he came within a point of securing the world title.

Tom Kristensen and Dario Franchitti were impressed by the sheer power of the V10-engine Ferrari F399 and the popular Brabham BT52 was driven by former teamsters Patrese and Marc Surer.

Fascinating comparisons were possible as some interesting cars went up in pairs, including Mercedes’ championship-winning 1954-55 W196 being dwarfed by a W13 from 2022, and ground-breaking turbocharged Renault RS10 ascending with Alpine’s 2023 A523.

Among the most dramatic runs came from current Haas drivers Esteban Ocon (in 2024 VF-24) and Ollie Bearman (2023 VF-23). They decided to embark on a contest to see which of them could torture the tyres more, resulting in plenty of doughnuts and burnouts. The consensus appeared to suggest a draw…

Adrian Newey tried a Ferrari 312/69 as well as his own Lotus 49 and Leyton House CG901 but it was another design legend who got his own collection this time. The celebration of 60 years of Gordon Murray’s designs pulled together an incredible array of the South African’s machines, from the IGM-Ford T.1 that started it all through to current T.33 and T.50 supercars. And the famous BT46B ‘fan car’ was part of an impressive line-up of Murray’s F1 Brabhams from the 1970s and 1980s.

Dumas makes it four in the Shootout

#135 Ford Supertruck Ford Performance,: Romain Dumas

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey / LAT Images via Getty Images

The Sunday Shootout, bringing together the fastest runners from the various classes across the previous three days, is the competitive climax of the Festival of Speed. Last year’s winner Romain Dumas set the pace running up to the finale in Ford’s outrageous F-150 SuperTruck and duly delivered his fourth victory in the event.

Max Chilton’s 39.08-second record run in the McMurtry Speirling fan car from 2022 remained out of reach, but double Le Mans winner Dumas whistled the all-electric monster up in 43.23s to set the fastest time of the weekend, crossing the line at 157mph.

“It was a good run,” said Dumas. “We were missing a tiny bit – I was hoping to go below 43s so perhaps we come back tomorrow!”

Ex-Formula 1 racer Scott Speed was the only driver to get close to Dumas, managing 45.03s in the Subaru Project Midnight.

British Hillclimb star Alex Summers was the first to break the 50s barrier in the mighty Can-Am Shadow DN4. His committed 47.88s effort withstood attacks from both 2024 British Touring Car champion Jake Hill (Holden Commodore) and endurance ace Sarah Bovy (Porsche 911 GT3-R), but Summers was denied a podium by James Wallis.

The Porsche junior was spectacular and his 911 GT3 Cup not always completely on the ground as he secured third spot with 46.74s.

The Maserati Tipo 26M of Julian Majzub won the pre-war class on Saturday, but the tables were turned on Sunday when Mark Gillies went faster in ERA R3A.

Other champions and challengers

#111 March-Cosworth 85C Penske Racing: Danny Sullivan

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey / LAT Images via Getty Images

It wasn’t just F1 that celebrated Goodwood’s overall theme and there were some special cars and drivers that ascended the hill.

The Napier-Railton in which John Cobb set the final Brooklands Outer Circuit lap record with an average of over 143mph appeared courtesy of the Brooklands Museum Trust, while Dindo Capello exercised the Audi 90 Quattro IMSA GTO that made such an impact on the American motorsport scene in 1989.

Even more of a highlight for American motorsport fans, though, was Danny Sullivan in the Penske-run March 85C in which he won the 1985 Indianapolis 500. Famously, Sullivan spun the car after overtaking Andretti for the lead but recovered and retook the lead to win by 2.5s.

Endurance enthusiasts were treated to several McLaren F1s, including JJ Lehto in the F1 GTR he shared with Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya to take victory at Le Mans in 1995, Group C Porsches and the awesome Mercedes C11, driven up the hill by Karl Wendlinger.

Highlights of the Ultimate Touring Cars set included five-time Bathurst winner Steven Richards in the Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R his father Jim used for some of his successful 1990 Australian Touring Car campaign. Richards Jr then took 10th in the Sunday Shootout, three spots behind fellow Bathurst legend Greg Murphy in the Holden Monaro 427C he used to win the 2003 Bathurst 24 Hours with Peter Brock, Jason Bright and Todd Kelly.

Colin McRae celebrated 30 years after world title

#202 Subaru Impreza 555: Alister McRae

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey / LAT Images via Getty Images

Colin McRae transcended rallying, becoming a global icon, and 30 years on from his 1995 World Rally Championship success the late Scot was remembered in spectacular style.

A collection of McRae’s rally cars gathered to take on the hill and the rally stage, including the 1995 title-winning Subaru Impreza and the 2001 Ford Focus that McRae drove to finish runner-up in the title race to Richard Burns.

Colin’s brother Alister had the honour of driving the Impreza and Focus, while father Jimmy, Colin’s daughter Hollie and Alister’s son Max, who competes in the European Rally Championship, were in attendance.

“For sure it means a lot,” said Alister, who won the British Rally Championship the same year Colin triumphed in the WRC. “It seems like a long time but it also doesn’t feel that long so it is great to be here and celebrate it in a good manner.”

Hollie, who was also given a ride up the hill by Jon Armstrong in the 1995 Impreza ‘L555 BAT’, added: “Everyone has a different story to tell about Colin and I’m still hearing totally new stories. It is really cool that 30 years after my dad won the WRC that his name is still spoken about so often.”

WRC title points leader Elfyn Evans, who piloted his current Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, also paid tribute to McRae: “One of my first memories of spectating on a rally was seeing Colin coming into view completely sideways and spectacular as usual.

“We all know how important Colin was for not only UK rallying but for world rallying. What he did on the stages was legendary but with the video games and everything he took the sport to a whole new level, it is important to remember all of that.”

Ocon and Lawson swap F1 cars for WRC machinery

Esteban Ocon trying out WRC cars

Photo by: WRC.com

Ocon and Liam Lawson spend their time trying to avoid gravel traps in F1, but at Goodwood the pair embraced the loose stuff by piloting World Rally Championship Rally1 cars for the first time.

Haas has a partnership with Toyota and Ocon jumped behind the wheel of the title-winning Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 on the Hannu Mikkola-designed Goodwood rally stage. After being driven by factory driver Takamoto Katsuta, Ocon swapped seats with the Japanese star.

“I was dreaming for that to happen one day; it was an experience of a lifetime, one of the best experiences in motorsport,” said Ocon. “With Takamoto on my side it was the best advice I could get. I got a feel of a proper rally stage, which was incredible. This car is something else.

“I will push like hell for Takamoto to have a go in the F1 car, it might not happen this time but for sure he will jump in and have a go [in the future].”

Racing Bulls driver Lawson also had the opportunity to live out a rally dream, taking the wheel of a M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 after some tuition from its regular driver Josh McErlean.

Liam Lawson trying out WRC cars

Photo by: WRC.com