There’s no other motorsport event quite like the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
It’s a glorious celebration of cars and motorsport past, present and future, with 2024’s festival set to be no exception.
We’ve picked out 10 things you can expect to see if you’re attending the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 11-14:
1 - Goodwood’s iconic hillclimb
There’s nothing else in motorsport quite like the Festival of Speed hillclimb, where a huge variety of Formula 1 cars (both past and present), supercars, sportscars, touring cars, rally icons and plenty more tackle the 1.16-mile hillclimb. All eras of motorsport history are represented.
With 12 grandstands hillside, it’s a great chance for fans to watch some of the greatest race cars of all time driven in crowd-pleasing anger by a litany of professional drivers.
The action heightens with the ‘Sunday Shootout’ where drivers take turns in attempting to set the fastest time up the iconic hill, with previous winners including ex-F1 drivers Martin Brundle, Nick Heidfeld and Max Chilton as well as rally legend Sebastien Loeb.
2 - The FOS Pit Lane presented by Sky
To get up close to the stars and cars tackling the hillclimb, the FOS pitlane is exactly where you want to be.
From F1 champions like Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button to title-winning McLaren MP4/4, Brawn BGP 001 and Ferrari F1-2000, there’s always plenty to see as legendary cars and drivers prepare for their runs.
Keep your phone to hand if you want to try and grab a selfie with one of your heroes.
3 - A four-star Williams treat
At the 2024 event, Williams is laying on a special treat for all attendees with four key Williams figures driving the legendary 1982 Williams FW08 up Goodwood Hill.
Current F1 drivers Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant will be present on Thursday and Friday respectively, while Lia Block - F1 Academy driver and daughter of rally legend Ken Block - will be there on Saturday.
Then it’s the turn of Williams F1 team principal James Vowles on Sunday. Vowles might be the team boss but he’s no stranger to racing, having competed in sportscars as recently as 2022.
4 - An exciting 2024 theme
Each year’s Festival of Speed carries a particular theme and in 2024, it’s ‘Horseless to Hybrid – Revolutions in Power'.
Celebrating 130 years of motorsport, the theme celebrations will showcase historic machines from across the racing spectrum that brought new technologies to the forefront of motorsport and automotive design.
Attention will also turn to the future, with debuts and dramatic hillclimb runs from the latest electric, hydrogen, hybrid and sustainably fuelled road and race cars.
5 - No driver needed
You can also expect a groundbreaking showcase of the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) - a race series that features autonomous cars.
The IAC will make its return to Goodwood, having been tested in America and at Monza, with the goal to undertake a special hillclimb challenge.
Teams run cars based on Dallara’s IL-15 machine, used in Indy Lights, and it’s set autonomous land speed records exceeding 190mph.
6 - A McLaren…sideways
One of the most left-field cars you’ll see at Goodwood this year is produced by industry legend 'Mad' Mike Whiddett.
Known for his unique builds, he’s converted a special drift car out of a McLaren P1 after intense work at Mike’s ‘Mad Lab’ in New Zealand.
“I’m inspired to push this McLaren project to the absolute limit, and then take it around the world… sideways,” Mike said of the car.
7 - Celebrating 100 years of MG
The iconic British brand MG will take over the Central Feature at Goodwood’s FOS this year to celebrate its centenary.
The central feature is a special art piece that sits with the beautiful backdrop of Goodwood House.
Previous installations have celebrated Porsche, BMW, Lotus, Aston Martin and Mercedes - in the classic Goodwood style of arranging their cars high in the air.
8 - Visit Future Lab
Future Lab presented by Randox is the home of immersive experiences that educate attendees on the technologies of tomorrow.
At Future Lab, you can expect to see plenty of mind-blowing innovations as well as lots of engaging exhibitions to enjoy. Previous years have seen the likes of robot dogs, mars rovers and ground-breaking VR technologies take centre stage.
9 - An electrifying display
The 2024 event will see a whole host of electric cars on display from some of the world’s biggest automotive manufacturers at Electric Avenue.
Want to know more about how electric cars are evolving and whether they’re right for you? There will be experts on hand throughout the day to answer all your burning questions.
10 - Forest Rally Stage
If you love rallying, you’ll love the Forest Rally Stage at Goodwood.
The hillclimb’s loose-surface sibling, the Forest Rally Stage is the perfect test of driver and machine as a high-speed route through forests and trees pushes any participant to their driving limit.
It’s a great place to experience the thrills of rallying up close and personal, featuring modern WRC machines as well as plenty of old favourites.
Only Thursday tickets remain so be sure to secure your place at the 2024 Festival of Speed before they sell out!
To find out more about the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed, visit their website here.
