Adrian Newey in a Williams-Renault FW16

I spent the first day at the Goodwood Festival of Speed running around taking tons of pictures.

Today I snapped a few more, but I also had a lot more time to talk to people and soak up the atmosphere.

A few of the F1 cars that failed to appear yesterday got running today. They included the gorgeous Lotus-Cosworth 79 (Mario Andretti’s championship-winning car from 1978) which was driven byformer Lotus pilot Martin Donnelly.

The Williams-Renault FW16 from 1994 appeared, driven by its designer, Adrian Newey, who drove another of his Williams creations yesterday.

Newey’s boss - Christian Horner - was also in attendance, taking to the hill in the Cooper-Climax T51 which won the championship 50 years ago.

There was one final F1 car which made it onto the Hill today - the Life L190, after three failures to get going, was finally coaxed up the hill and over the line by the man who rebuilt its engine, Lorenzo Prandina. I had a chat with Lorenzo and got lots of pictures of this bizarre car, and will write some more about it later.

Several F1 drivers past and present popped up in different cars. Kazuki Nakajima and Timo Glock were both present, driving a Williams and a Toyota respectively.

Alan Jones got behind the wheel of a Le Mans-specification McLaren F1, and succeeded in spinning it (thankfully without hitting anything) at the second corner. He also drove his old Williams-Cosworth FW07 from 1978, thankfully without damaging it.

But Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of driving Ayrton Senna’s 1988 McLaren-Honda MP4/4 may be dashed. As Bruno Senna came past me at Molecomb in the afternoon it juddered to a halt. Senna said he suspected a failure in the clutch or gearbox, and the latter could prove difficult. Senna mentioned he’d been preparing to do a burn-out at the time, which we hadn’t been expecting the the 21 year-old car to be subject to for pretty much this reason.

Also due tomorrow are Jenson Button and Frank Williams, the latter celebrating 40 years in Formula 1.

I’ve added a couple of my new pictures below, the rest from today will be added to these artcles:

Update: McLaren have now confirmed Hamilton won’t be driving Senna’s car tomorrow.

• F1 cars, post-1980 (Goodwood Festival of Speed pictures)
• F1 cars, pre-1980 (Goodwood Festival of Speed 2009 pictures)
• Williams F1 cars collection (Goodwood Festival of Speed 2009 pictures)
• Mercedes and Auto Union Silver Arrows (Goodwood Festival of Speed pictures)

Gilles Villeneuve won his first race in this Ferrari

The collection of early Grand Prix cars on show at Goodwood this year features some real classics. It includes a Maserati 250F in an uncharacteristic blue livery.

Plus an ex-Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 312T3 and the Matra-Cosworth MS10 in which Jackie Stewart famously won at the Nürburgring in heavy rain by over four minutes.

Pictures in this gallery: 70

More pictures will be added to this gallery during the weekend, so check back later. If you have a request for pictures of a particular car at Goodwood this year, please let me know below.

Adrian Newey drives the championship-winning Williams FW18 he designed

Forty years ago, Frank Williams made his start in Grand Prix racing, entering Piers Courage in a customer Brabham. After several years fielding customer cars by the likes of De Tomaso and March, Williams eventually became a constructor.

That took them to championship glory, first with Alan Jones in 1980, and most regularly in the mid-1990s when powered by Renault. Marking Williams’ anniversary, a selection of their cars are on display at Goodwood this year.

Pictures in this gallery: 82

More pictures will be added to this gallery during the weekend, so check back later. If you have a request for pictures of a particular car at Goodwood this year, please let me know below.

Stirling Moss at the wheel of a Mercedes W196

Among the anniversaries being marked at the Goodwood Festival of Speed is 75 years of the German ’silver arrows’. This name was first applied to the cars raced by Auto Union (fore-runner of the modern Audi) and Mercedes-Benz from 1934.

Former Red Bull driver David Coulthard is among the contemporary F1 drivers piloting the cars, and Jenson Button will drive one on Sunday. Sir Stirling Moss, who drove for Mercedes in the 1950s, demonstrated a W196 model in the same outfit he wore when he was competing.

Pictures in this gallery: 54

More pictures will be added to this gallery during the weekend, so check back later. If you have a request for pictures of a particular car at Goodwood this year, please let me know below.

Marc Gene driving a Ferrari F2008 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

I’m at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend - here’s my first batch of photographs of F1 cars.

This set includes the 1988 McLaren-Honda MP4/4 (ex-Ayrton Senna), an ex-Michele Alboreto Ferrari and the gorgeous Benetton-Ford B188. Plus, several cars from the 2008 F1 season.

Pictures in this gallery: 216

More pictures will be added to this gallery during the weekend, so check back later. If you have a request for pictures of a particular car at Goodwood this year, please let me know below.

Jackie Stewart had the 1969 championship wrapped up with three rounds to spare

There’s no Canadian Grand Prix on the calendar this year - but FOTA and many F1 fans hope the sport will return soon. F1 Fanatic guest writer Andrew Tsvyk looks back on one of the earliest world championship rounds in Canada.

While this year’s Turkish Grand Prix was taking place in front of largely empty grandstands at the otherwise excellent Istanbul circuit, the race could have taken place in another country. One whose population had been religiously attending their home Grand Prix for the last four decades, before the event was unceremoniously thrown out from the world championship calendar last November.

The country in question is Canada, which held an almost uninterrupted run of races from 1967 at some of F1’s best-loved venues.

Origins

Formula 1 first arrived in Canada in 1967 and saw Jack Brabham win the race at Mosport in a car carrying his name. The event was also briefly held at the picturesque Mont-Tremblant venue, before settling in Montreal for good in 1978.

Between 1967 and 2008 46 races were held in Canada, which makes it one of the oldest Grands Prix on the calendar.

The Canadian was originally one of the later rounds of the championship. As a result, the race often had a huge impact on the outcome of the world championship. In 1967, Brabham’s win gave the Australian an outside shot on retaining the title (which eventually went to his younger teammate Denny Hulme), while the 1968 event saw Denny Hulme take the chequered flag, catching Graham Hill, the world championship leader, in the points race.

In 1969, the battle for the drivers’ crown had been finished long before the big circus set its foot in Canada. Such was the dominance of Jackie Stewart and his Matra-Ford that year that the Scot clinched his first world title in Italy, with three rounds still to go in the 1969 Formula 1 championship.

Pole for Ickx

Nevertheless, even with the drivers’ title settled, there was still plenty of action in qualifying. Brabham’s Jacky Ickx took a surprise pole, after posting a lap time, which was about 0.5 of a second quicker than that of Jean-Pierre Beltoise (Matra-Ford) and Jochen Rindt(Lorus-Ford). Beltoise, Rindt and Stewart posted identical times of 1:17.9, but the Frenchman did it earlier than his Austrian and British counterparts and therefore took second spot on the starting grid.

Fifth position went to the 1967 world champion, Denny Hulme, in a McLaren-Ford, while row three comprised Jo Siffert’s Rob Walker-entered Lotus, Graham Hill’s works Lotus entry and Jack Brabham in a car carrying his name.

After failing to win a race in 1969, Ferrari decided not to cross the Atlantic for the final races, leaving it to the North American Racing Team to fly the Prancing Horse’s flag in the New World. However, the privately-entered Ferrari was well off the pace.

As was commonplace in the sixties, the grid was bolstered by local entrants. These included Gilles Villeneuve’s future Formula Atlantic sparring partner, Bill Brack. But the fastest Canadian in practice - 47-year old Al Pease – was a whopping eleven seconds off Ickx’s mark, which nonetheless was good enough to place his Eagle-Climax 17th on the grid.

Rindt takes an early lead

At 2pm local time, when the race got underway, Austria’s Jochen Rindt shot into the lead in his Lotus-Ford. Pole-sitter Ickx remained second, while France’s Jean-Pierre Beltoise fell down to third. But the new world champion was about to change that.

Stewart had already clinched six victories on his way to the crown, but there was no indication that the Matra driver would stop there. Having taken third position away from team-mate Beltoise on lap two, Stewart continued his charge up the leader board, slipping by Ickx two laps later.

Then, on lap six, the Scotsman hit the front, relegating Rindt to second after an exciting battle around Mosport’s challenging bends.

Stewart versus Ickx

Rindt struggled to match the pace of the leaders and Ickx soon found a way past the Austrian and set his sights on the race leader.

A breathtaking duel ensued, with both of the protagonists trading fastest lap times. However, it soon emerged that Stewart was not faster than his foe, and then Ickx stopped the clocks at 1min. 18.1, leaving the Scot with no response. It became clear that it was only a matter of time before Ickx would lead.

Stewart fiercely defended his place, unwilling to let Ickx through. But on lap 33 the pair caught a back-marker, and the Belgian decided to make a play for the lead. With neither of the drivers wanting to give an inch of space to the other, the green Brabham banged wheels with the blue Matra and the two cars left the track.

This proved the decisive moment of the race, as Ickx managed to get back on track ahead of Rindt, the best of the chasers. Stewart, having stalled his engine, was unable to recover.

Stewart’s demise left Ickx in a race of his own. He remained untouchable for the opposition till the chequered flag, recording his third Grand Prix triumph.

Denny Hulme, like Stewart, was left ruing what might have been. Sixth at the end of lap one, the New Zealander powered by the likes of Siffert and Beltoise, displaying enough speed to challenge for a podium. Unfortunately, a faulty distributor on Denny’s M7A brought The Bear’ s race to a premature end on lap nine.

They say that the art of winning requires an ability to take advantage of the other’s problems. On a beautiful autumn afternoon in Canada Jacky Ickx proved that he had mastered that lesson.

Brabham and Servoz-Gavin profit from retirements

After winning the 1969 Canadian GP, Jacky Ickx was joined on the podium by his team-mate Jack Brabham who managed to get by Jochen Rindt in the closing stages of the race. This would prove to be Black Jack’s best result of the year, as the rest of the season was marred by a string of retirements. In addition, the triple world champion was forced to miss three races due to foot injuries, sustained in a testing accident.

The other drivers worthy of mentioning include Johnny Servoz-Gavin and Al Pease. While Johnny’s performance at the wheel of a 4WD racer saw the 27-year old Frenchman score a point despite being six laps down, Al Pease drew the observers’ attention for the wrong reasons. Despite being much slower than the rest of the field, the local driver proved to be unwilling to cooperate with the leaders, forcing them to take unnecessary risks in order to overtake him. At one point Pease made contact with the front wheel of Jean-Pierre Beltoise’s Matra, which did not leave Ken Tyrrell impressed. Infuriated, Uncle Ken headed to race control, urging officials to intervene. As a result, Pease became the only driver in the history of Grand Prix racing to be black flagged for going too slow.

The verdict

I have nothing against China, Malaysia, Bahrain and Singapore becoming hosts of an F1 Grand Prix, but they should not be happening at the expense of the likes of Great Britain, France, Argentina and Canada.

Of course, a circuit like Montreal is lagging behind the likes of Istanbul and Sepang in terms of facilities. And Sakhir, Istanbul and Sepang provide drivers with more overtaking opportunities.

But this means nothing, if the battle takes place in front of empty grandstands. Grand Prix racing is all about atmosphere and tradition. And here one has to agree that Montreal has these in abundance.

1969 Canadian Grand Prix, Mosport - 90 laps

I’ll be checking my email and Twitter accounts during the weekend so if you want to arrange a time to meet up let me know and I’ll get in touch:

• F1 Fanatic contact form
• F1 Fanatic on Twitter

I still find the whole concept rather cynical and unappealing but you can’t deny they promote themselves rather better than F1 does. I’ve already written about how much better their website is than F1.com, and now they’ve got a promising video game lined up too.

While FOM got Codemasters on board to produce the new official F1 game (which has now been partially delayed), Superleague Formula’s game will be produced by Media Game and Image Space Incorporated.

Codemasters might be more of an established games publisher but their recent track record is a better ropey: recent iterations of the once-great “TOCA” and “Colin McRae Rally” franchises have become ever more like other standard, disposable racing clones.

Image Space Incorporated, on the other hand, produced the immersive and addictive “rFactor” as well as the popular “F1 Challenge”.

However Superleague Formula may have made a mistake by opting for a single-platform game: it will only available in PC format with no mention of Sony Playstation, Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii versions.

Of course, we won’t know if either game is any good until they actually come out. Superleague’s game is due in September, Codemasters “F1 2009″ is also due out later this year, but only for Nintendo Wii and Sony PSP, with a 2010 version following next year.

Press release

Superleague Formula is set to move up yet another gear with the launch of its first official videogame in September.

Now poised to kick off its second season, Superleague Formula is the only competition in the world to unite premier league quality motor sport with top football brands. The series features a grid of powerful single-seater racing cars – all representing many of the world’s most famous football clubs – competing for top honours on the race track. This year’s championship takes place between June and November with races in France, Belgium, United Kingdom, Portugal, Italy and Spain. Among those celebrated clubs competing for outright glory are former UEFA Champions League winners Liverpool FC and AC Milan.

As on the race circuit, the exciting new Superleague Formula video game will combine the passion of football with the speed, excitement and emotion of car racing to produce a product with genuine appeal to the millions of global gamers already enjoying top selling football and motor sport games.

Renowned specialists Media Game and Image Space Incorporated are masterminding the development and subsequent launch of the official video game. ISI has a wealth of experience – its portfolio of video games already includes rFactor, F1 Challenge and NASCAR Thunder. The exciting new game will be introduced in September and will be distributed online for PCs from the official Superleague Formula website.

“We are delighted to have concluded this significant deal with such proven experts,” said Superleague Formula President, Alex Andreu. “Football and motor sport games are among the most popular titles right around the world and we’re confident that our game will be a huge hit with all gamers. It will not only provide extra excitement to existing Superleague Formula followers and fans of those clubs competing in our championship but also it will help us to spread the Superleague gospel to important new global audiences.”

Follow the leader: Racing has not improved much this year

F1 has been grappling with the problem of how to get the cars to race more closely for several years.

For 2009, the FIA’s Overtaking Working Group proposed a radical solution involving lower, wider front wings and higher, narrower rear wings. It made the cars wretchedly unattractive but, they reckoned, it should allow them to follow more closely.

Unfortunately it hasn’t worked. We now have cars that are heinously ugly - and still can’t overtake. Why hasn’t it worked and what should be done about it?

After the first few races of the season the changes got a cautious thumbs-up after we’d seen some genuinely exciting and close racing.

Since then we’ve seen several races where drivers have once again complained of being unable to get close enough to the car in front to be able to pass. There will likely be many competing explanations for why this is the case, so let’s explore some of them:

Drivers

Until a few races ago the debate over the lack of overtaking was centred around whether particular drivers just aren’t very good at overtaking. Suspicion particularly fell on Sebastian Vettel, who spent much of the Bahrain and Spanish Grands Prix stuck behind slower cars.

But since then we have seen more evidence of how cars with significant performance advantages over their rivals simply can’t make a pass. Here’s Jenson Button’s lap times as he caught Nico Rosberg at Silverstone towards the end of the British Grand Prix:

Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg, Britisah Grand Prix 2009 (click to enlarge)

Having been lapping over two seconds quicker, as Button got closer to Rosberg their lap times gradually converged to the point where Button was hardly gaining at all.

KERS

I think one of the main reasons we saw more overtaking in the first few races of the season was that more cars were using KERS.

Renault, BMW, Ferrari and McLaren were using the system to make lightning-quick starts and overtake otherwise quicker rivals. We even saw non-KERS-equipped cars struggling past those that had the boost button.

But as more teams have rejected the technology, the opportunity for racing with it has decreased.

It may have been branded a ‘failure’, with the teams planning to abandon it next year, but it did make a difference as far as overtaking is concerned.

Diffusers

Felipe Massa reckons the FIA ruling making ‘double decker’ diffusers legal which he feels harmed the work of the OWG:

Just as was planned by the FIA, the cars did produce less downforce. But with the decision to allow the double diffusers, this plan was turned upside down.

It is always valuable to get the insight of a driver into matters like this, but we cannot ignore the fact that Massa’s team Ferrari were especially vocal in criticising the double-diffuser ruling and were among those not to use the innovation in the early races of the season.

Other racing series such as Champ Car successfully used cars which relied heavily on downforce generated by diffusers instead of wings to allow cars to race quickly and closely. The rationale was that it made the cars less sensitive when following the disturbed air of a leading car.

In his pre-season technical preview on this site, John Beamer criticised the 2009 regulations for substantially reducing the size of the diffusers, arguing that larger diffusers could create better racing:

The diffuser and floor generate downforce but create little turbulence. Given that the FIA’s aim is to reduce the size of the wake then a powerful diffuser in conjunction with, say, a less cambered and more shallow rear wing is a must.

Read more: How the F1 rules changes for 2009 are meant to improve racing (part 3/3)

Tracks

Is it down to the circuits?

The opening races were at venues often thought of as ‘overtaking-friendly’, like Sepang and Bahrain. But the Circuit de Catalunya, Monte-Carlo and Silverstone are seen as trickier places to make a pass.

I’m not really convinced by this argument. Yes, some tracks are harder to pass on than others - Monaco, for example, is always going to be exceptionally difficult.

But to my mind the fundamental problem is the cars still can’t get close enough to each other in the first place, and that is down to the technical rules.

What else?

Whatever the cause of F1’s overtaking problem is, the 2009-spec aerodynamics has not solved it. In a poll here earlier this week the modern F1 cars were voted among the most unattractive ever seen in the sport.

If we are going to be stuck with cars that can’t overtake each other, can we at least have ones that look good?

More on overtaking in F1

• F1’s overtaking problem solved?
• Now we’ll find out if they can overtake…
• How the F1 rules changes for 2009 are meant to improve racing (part 1/3)
• How the F1 rules changes for 2009 are meant to improve racing (part 2/3)
• How the F1 rules changes for 2009 are meant to improve racing (part 3/3)

Giancarlo Fisichella had a strong drive to tenth at Silverstone

One of the quieter success stories of the first half of the season has been the gradual improvement of Force India.

An effective programme of development has brought real progress, and the team has finally begun to get cars beyond the first segment in qualifying.

They’ve come tantalisingly close to scoring their first points – but it hasn’t happened yet. Can they make that breakthrough soon?

There’s been three big signs of their progress so far, but a mixture of luck and mistakes has often served to mask their progress:

Chinese Grand Prix

Adrian Sutil has often shown a knack for driving in the wet, and at Shanghai his skills shone as he pulled the VJM02 up to sixth place having started 18th.

Unfortunately, with six laps to go he lost control of his car at one of the few places on the track where the closeness of the barriers meant he wasn’t going to get away with it.

Read more: Sutil crash costs Force India first point

Monaco Grand Prix

This time it was Giancarlo Fisichella’s turn to shine - although Sutil played a useful role in helping his team mate.

On a day when the longevity of the super-soft tyre was suspect, Sutil ran into trouble with them on lap eight. He allowed Fisichella, on the harder tyres, past, but delayed the chasing pack.

Fisichella, meanwhile, latched onto the rear of another group of cars that had been slowed by a driver struggling with super-soft tyres: Sebastian Vettel. By making a later pit stop Fisichella was able to jump up the order to finish ninth at the chequered flag, less than two seconds behind Sebastien Bourdais.

In truth, the way the race unfolded probably exaggerated the strengths of the VJM02 on that day (they only set the 14th and 16th fastest laps) - but it showed that if events go in their favour they are ready to get that first top-eight finish.

Read more: Super-soft tyres key to Button’s win and Vettel’s disaster (Monaco GP analysis)

British Grand Prix

Friday practice for the British Grand Prix ended with the two Red Bulls at the top of the times sheets - and Adrian Sutil an utterly unexpected third.

Sutil had been running new parts straight from the factory, just a stone’s throw from Silverstone’s gates. The extensive upgrade included a new front wing, barge boards, bodywork and a revised floor.

But on Saturday disaster struck: Sutil’s brakes failed as he tackled the Abbey chicane and he crashed hard into the barriers. His qualifying session was ruined, and Fisichella was a lowly 16th.

Despite that, Fisichella again made progress on Sunday - making a crucial pass on Nick Heidfeld - to finish tenth. Once again, he was two seconds away from a place in the points.

The next step?

Force India are clearly already in the position where they only need a little luck to get that first points finish.

And a points score ‘on merit’ could be on the cards too. At Silverstone Fisichella beat a Williams, both Renaults and both BMWs without any help from fortuitously-timed safety cars, unusual weather conditions or the like - it was down to pure pace.

Also left in Fisichella’s wake were both the McLarens - the team which are providing Force India with gearboxes and other parts this year, as well as sharing an engine supplier. The thought of taking on and beating the mighty McLaren with substantially similar parts must bring tremendous cheer to the Silverstone squad after several uncertain seasons with different owners.

Sutil’s home race is next on the calendar. Can he - or Fisichella - give Force India their long-awaited maiden score next weekend? What other races on the calendar offer them a good opportunity for them?

So they’ve replaced their third driver Bredon Hartley with his 2008 British Formula Three team mate Jaime Alguersuari for the rest of the year. Should Vettel or Webber have to miss a race, the young Spanish driver should get the call-up:

Q & A with Jaime Alguersuari

Jaime Alguersuari: "My main objective and aim is to be as a race driver at Toro Rosso, this would be for me the best. It's going to be tough, also because there is not much testing to do. But once you get to F1, everything changes - we have seen that with guys like Sebastien Buemi and Sebastian Vettel."

Remembering a brave F1 fan

"You’ve probably not heard of Liam Fairhurst but he was a mad keen F1 fan and he died this week. But there’s more to it than that. Liam was only 14 and he had been battling against cancer for four years. He thought he’d beaten it, but it turned out he hadn’t."

YouTube - OfficialMcLarenVids’s Channel

McLaren now sharing videos on Youtube

British A1 Grand Prix arm stalls

"The British arm of A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) has collapsed, raising concerns about the future of the so-called world cup of motorsport." Story I missed in Saturday's papers.

Reserve Driver Change

"As the 2009 season reaches its halfway point, Red Bull F1 is making a change to its nominated reserve driver for Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso. With effect from the German Grand Prix, this role is now being taken on by Jaime Alguersuari, who replaces fellow Red Bull Young Driver, Brendon Hartley. The 19 year old Spaniard, who became the youngest ever British F3 champion last year, is currently competing in the World Series by Renault."

Andrew Benson: Pick your classic German Grand Prix

"Unfortunately, the BBC archive is not what it might be, and we have been unable to source enough material for these races to put together a suitable highlights package." BBC's usual "pick your favourite Grand Prix" segment though unfortunately they haven't got much footage of two of the best German Grands Prix ever: 1957 (Fangio beating the Ferraris) and 1968 (Stewart winning by four minutes in the wet).

George steps down as Indy boss

"Tony George has resigned from his position as head of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series following a meeting of the board of directors of the Hulman-George company that owns the legendary racetrack and the championship." Uncertain days ahead for the Indy Racing League as its founder Tony George steps down. George was also the man who brokered the deal with Bernie Ecclestone to bring F1 to Indianapolis from 2000-2007.

These are links I’ve bookmarked using Delicious. You can see my Delicious profile here.

In it, Barrett discusses a forthcoming advert for LG’s 200hz LCD TV range, which he boasts will be the first to use actual footage from an F1 race:

We’ve produced a TV commercial talking about our new 200hz technology on LCD TVs, which allow you to see fast-moving action without blurring. There is no better demonstration of that than Formula One.

That TV commercial features real footage from the Australian Grand Prix. No-one has ever put real F1 race footage in a TV commercial before. That’s part of the wonderful relationship we have with FOM that we can use race footage in advertising.

The product in question is HD-ready, which leads one to wonder whether this ad campaign will accompany the long-overdue arrival of F1 in high definition. It would be preposterous for a television manufacturer to launch an advert boasting about seeing “fast-moving action without blurring” using standard definition instead of HD.

LG’s rival Panasonic has already been using its tie-up with Toyota to promote its Viera range of high definition televisions, even though F1 is lagging behind other sports in not yet offering HD coverage.

There have been rumours that this year’s season finale at Abu Dhabi could be the first F1 race to air in high definition. Is this what the LG ad campaign is planned to coincide with?

Here’s the interview in full:

Why did LG decide to become an F1 partner?

Andrew Barrett: LG is a rapidly fast and growing brand throughout the world and we had been looking for opportunities to further accelerate our brand’s development in two ways. Firstly, to continue to build awareness amongst the global consumer. Secondly, to build our premium technology credentials amongst those that are aware of the LG brand.

We believed that a major sponsorship programme that could help us get global reach and add to the premium technology credentials of our brand through association would be highly effective for our business performance. So we looked for a brand that could fit that criteria and Formula One was a brilliant fit.

Why did you decide on a partnership with Formula One Management rather than sponsoring a team?

AB: We chose to have our relationship with Formula One itself for a number of reasons. We were looking for a programme that would build broad global brand awareness. The opportunity to become a global partner of F1 and some of the key deliverables such as having our logo embedded in the graphics in every race, as one of the top seen logos in every country of the world, really delivered well on brand awareness.

You can do track signage but not necessarily at every race, you can be on a car but that car is not necessarily on-screen. We were looking for a way to have a bold prominence on every broadcast around the world and the partnership with FOM allows us to do that.

We also wanted to reach out to the broadest consumer base that we could. The best way to do that is to be associated with the championship as opposed to somebody’s favourite team. We are, by default, part of everybody’s favourite team. The success or failure of our association rests with how well F1 does rather than any individual team which is very well suited to our brand.

How close were you to doing a team deal?

AB: I cant talk specifically because we aren’t necessarily done with those discussions. We decided to make our first foray into F1 by sponsoring the league and establishing this as the foundation of our relationship with the championship. But I don’t think we’re done yet.

We’re digesting that relationship. Over 65 countries around the world are activating this programme. We’re potentially going to expand that in the future. I wouldn’t say we’re going to do a team deal but I wouldn’t preclude it either.

The deal was signed in November 2008. If you knew then what you know now about the severity of the economic downturn would you still have gone ahead with it?

AB: Absolutely. We did know then what we know now. All the indications of the economic climate change around the world were already very well established. We’re always looking far ahead. But that did not discourage us. Our business is a very healthy one, we’re a rapidly growing brand around the world, we have a business plan to grow that brand dramatically further, and this type of sponsorship activity is important to the acceleration of our brand development.

And in times like this, for companies that can make these bold decisions, put them into action and activate them quickly and successfully, great gains can be made and we believe that with this programme.

You signed a multi-year deal, what is the long-term plan?

AB: The plan is to get every country that LG operates in executing F1 as a key activation platform in the marketing and sales activities. We currently have 30 countries activating programmes - we’ve gone from zero to 30 in just six months, which is really fast.

We’ve produced a TV commercial talking about our new 200hz technology on LCD TVs, which allow you to see fast-moving action without blurring. There is no better demonstration of that than Formula One.

That TV commercial features real footage from the Australian Grand Prix. No-one has ever put real F1 race footage in a TV commercial before. That’s part of the wonderful relationship we have with FOM that we can use race footage in advertising.

This is currently on air in 12 countries around the world and rapidly expanding.
We shot a second commercial at the Malaysian Grand Prix. We had our own camera crew there. This will go on in another 8-10 countries.

We have built an entire print and online advertising campaign for our mobile phones and TVs from our association with F1, which is currently running in over 35 countries.
We have done major trackside activations, with LG technology design centres where thousands of consumers can come in and learn about our products. We’re doing sales contests, online propositions, lots of projects are in the works.

To this date, across my desk has passed over 700 marketing programmes from over 35 countries that have gone to FOM for approval and implementation since we started.
Already the deal is benefitting F1 as LG is helping with the introduction of a new electronic marshalling system.

How did you get involved with this project?

AB: As part of our relationship with FOM, they are helping to find additional ways that our brand can get into the sport from a technology perspective. Mr Ecclestone is always looking at ways that we can enhance the technology side of F1 because that’s our contribution. He is constantly bringing us ideas that could build on that.

We were approached about the marshalling lights, which are a technological evolution in the sport. FIA and FOM have been testing those this season and we have been part of that testing process.

Are you happy with how the deal is going so far?

AB: Absolutely thrilled. We have over 700 projects in 35 countries in just six months. To think of how much of that activity has been implemented with such a passion within our company and with the support of FOM to do some really innovative things, I couldn’t be more pleased. When I’ve talked to FOM and some of our agency partners, they are astounded by the sheer amount of work we have jumped on board and put behind this programme. I think a number of them will tell you it’s unprecedented.

And that’s just the start of a long-term relationship.

What methods are you using to evaluate the success of the deal?

AB: We’re still in the process of developing our full evaluation protocol. We’re building the testing and measurement system as we go along. Some of the key metrics we’re tracking are the PR and media value, which includes things such as the value of our logo on TV or in print. Media and PR value is a key metric for us.

We are also tracking globally how strong LG’s awareness with F1 is developing. How people feel about our brand and if it is building the premium technology credentials of our brand by being associated with this premium sport. We’re also doing a lot of work by asking our guests at various events and seeing how they think we can make our programme better.

Those are our external measures. But we’ve also done this programme for internal reasons. We have thousands of employees around the world, many of whom are new to LG. We’re using the programme to build their comprehension, understanding and respect for the premium technology side of our brand. So I’ve got an internal measurement system to see how strong our awareness is with our employees, how they feel about the programme, and if they feel it helps them in their jobs.

What effect, if any, are the plans to reduce budgets in F1 having on your sponsorship?

AB: Obviously it is important to us is that F1 continues to be a strong, robust and viable sporting franchise in the world because we have bought into a very healthy brand and we need to make sure it continues to experience all of the success it has had historically and more.

But the changes in the sport have no affect on our activity. It is one of the nice things about being associated with the league and not an individual team. As long as there are teams in F1 that are going around the track and hundreds of millions of people are watching then life is good for us, no matter what politics may exist within the sport from time to time.

And some of the changes are great. There were a lot of technical changes to the cars this year, and I would say it has gotten more people more interested in F1 than last year. The ‘David v Goliath’ story that’s going on in the competition has helped. The ratings were certainly up around the world for the first few races. People are paying more attention and talking about it more. And anything that gets more people paying more attention to F1 is good for LG.

Read more

• F1 to unveil LG as official sponsor
• F1 may get first HD show at Abu Dhabi
• BBC: No HD F1 in 2009
• HD channel to show F1 in Australia

First up, Chris Goodwin talks about the McLaren-Honda MP4/4 which he, Bruno Senna and finally Lewis Hamilton will take turns in driving this weekend:

And here another video showing their preparations for this weekend’s Festival:

See the McLaren Youtube page for more.

More on the Goodwood Festival of Speed

• 100+ pictures of F1 drivers and cars at the Goodwood Festival of Speed
• F1 car and driver highlights at the 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed
• Life L190 – the worst F1 car ever – to run at Goodwood Festival of Speed
• Williams to demonstrate three F1 cars at Goodwood Festival of Speed (Video)
• Hamilton to drive Senna’s McLaren

Great drivers, tremendous cars, iffy fashion: Goodwood's got the lot

Just two days to go until one of my favourite dates on the motor racing calendar: the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

I’m fidgety with anticipation as usual, so for the benefit of those of you who won’t be going, here’s a collection of some of the F1 cars and drivers which have appeared in recent years.

Including classic cars, crowd-pleasing antics - and Jenson Button in a stunningly bad Burberry overcoat…

I’ve done my best to identify the various cars correctly but if there’s an error or an omission please let me know in the comments.

And if you’re coming to Goodwood too and want to meet up, leave a comment or get in touch via the contact form.

More F1 pictures

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Looking for another team for next year?

Every few years in Formula 1 the silly season goes into overdrive while the teams wait for the biggest driver on the market to make his move.

Top drivers and top teams pairing up always has a degree of inevitability about it: like Ayrton Senna joining Williams in 1994, and McLaren signing Kimi Raikkonen in 2002.

Fernando Alonso has been linked to a move to Ferrari ever since his McLaren deal went sour. Will it finally come to be in 2010?

The rumours

As TommyB posted on the forum yesterday, the Spanish press has been buzzing in recent days with rumours claiming Ferrari will announce Alonso’s deal at the Italian Grand Prix.

There doesn’t appear to be much substance behind this latest story. But Ferrari traditionally announce changes in their driver line-up at Monza and the Alonso deal has been tipped for some time. The story may have simply been a means of bolstering traffic during a quiet few days following the latest round of the FIA-FOTA row.

What really gave this story legs was the report in December by Italian journalist Pino Allievi, a man credited by those in the know as having a solid line on developments at Ferrari. Around this time, 82% of F1 Fanatic readers reckoned the deal was on.

Not long afterwards, Gerhard Berger revealed Toro Rosso had been in contract negotiations with Alonso for 2009, but the Spanish driver had said he was looking for a ‘transitional’ year before moving on somewhere else. Berger drew the conclusion that Alonso’s destination team is Ferrari.

The right deal for both parties?

Suspicion has fallen on Kimi Raikkonen as being the Ferrari driver most likely to be moved aside. After winning the championship in 2007 his results tailed off last year, demonstrated by his error-strewn four race streak without a point scored.

Felipe Massa, of course, fared rather better last year - had the rain at Interlagos fallen 30 seconds later his Ferrari would have the number one on it.

Ferrari are believed to have Banco Santander lined up to foot part of the bill - conveniently, their colour schemes match up.

The attraction for Alonso is clear. Ferrari may be off the pace this year, but that is hardly typical of their form over the past decade. Renault, meanwhile, have handed him poor cars two years in a row.

All the progress Renault made throughout 2008, culminating in two victories, turned to naught over the winter as the team lost ground to their rivals despite being handed a significant concession from the FIA to improve their engine performance.

In short, everything seems to be aligned perfectly for Alonso to make that move to Ferrari. And if they are going to keep everyone waiting another two-and-a-half months to announce it, well, that just keeps the opposition guessing…

Read more: Ferrari to confirm Alonso at Monza (F1 Fanatic forum)

But do I detect a hint of frustration in this quote from Ross Brawn that the drivers were unable to make use of the new parts at Silverstone?

New components for Brawn in Germany

Ross Brawn: "With the confusion over the tyres, we didn't run some new pieces we had because Friday (practice at Silverstone) was very difficult with the tyre temperatures. We couldn't determine how the new bits were working so we decided to avoid confusion and went back to what we had in Turkey; we've got those bits and we have some new improvements for the Nürburgring."

Allianz to debut brand in the UK

"Allianz, the world's second-biggest insurance company, is to roll out its brand as a consumer proposition in the UK for the first time." Allianz have pumped a lot of money into building brand awareness via F1 sponsorship, especially track signage. A potential future British Grand Prix title sponsor?

YAS Marina Circuit Experience

Drive a virtual lap of the new Abu Dhabi circuit (But is it better than the fans' mod version in rFactor?)

How they manage their engine allowances - 2009 engine stats after 8 races

"It does not look too good for Robert Kubica. At this rate it won’t take long for him to start picking up grid penalties for additional engines."

Things that have caught my eye lately

"Wurz reckons that [the BGP 001] is the “most expensive can [sic] with the lowest operating budget ever”, based on the assertion that it was developed in five windtunnels with three separate programmes running. I’ve heard rival teams mutter that this is the most expensive car ever made too, but thought that they were probably jealous!"

These are links I’ve bookmarked using Delicious. You can see my Delicious profile here.

After much criticism from the drivers, notably Fernando Alonso, it has ceased its practice of bringing tyres two stages apart on its performance spectrum.

As last year, Hungaroring and Valencia will be tackled with its softest tyres. But for Spa Bridgestone will bring tyres one stage softer than last year.

For Monza Bridgestone is changing back to the combination of medium and soft tyres in used in 2007. Last year it brought hard and medium - but heavy rain meant the race was mostly run on wet weather tyres anyway.

Tyre allocations for rounds 10 to 13

Read more

• Hungarian Grand Prix 2009
• European Grand Prix 2009
• Belgian Grand Prix 2009
• Italian Grand Prix 2009
• Soft tyre rule: exciting or artificial? (Poll)
• Tyre compounds for next four races
• Have the 2009 tyre rules gifted Button the world drivers’ championship?
• Bridgestone to widen difference between tyres in 2009 – but how will we know?

Roofs at F1 circuits would be impractical, but useful

There’s no escaping the Wimbledon tennis tournament here in Britain. Last night F1 broadcasters BBC attracted 12.6m viewers as British hopeful Andy Murray scraped through to the next round after a four-hour match that lasted well into the evening.

But there has been criticism of the decision to keep the match going under Wimbledon’s new extensible roof - and questions about whether it was done to help keep viewing figures strong.

It would not be the first sport where compromises have been made to suit the demands of television – Formula 1 is much the same. But this sort of thing can easily go too far.

The roof at centre court was constructed before this year’s event to allow the organisers to keep the tournament running when the British summer runs true to form – i.e. cold and wet.

You can imagine what has happened. London is presently basking in a heat wave, with temperatures up to 32C. Then, vexing the organisers further, fat dollops of warm rain fell yesterday afternoon.

The roof was duly rolled across to keep everyone dry. The match was finished but afterwards the players complained of being roasted in the heat under the cover.

The BBC has denied it asked for the roof to be used to keep the game going – but the desire to keep international broadcasters satisfied may well have played a role in the organiser’s decision.

It certainly would not be the first time sport has taken a back seat to commercial imperatives. It’s the same reason why the British football Premier League has been considering adding an extra round of matches to be played in cash-rich eastern countries.

F1 has been making similar concessions to economic demands in general – and television in particular – for some time.

Elimination qualifying

F1’s ‘elimination’ qualifying system was partly designed to allow advert breaks after Q1 and Q2.

I think it’s a neat solution which satisfies the demands of fans, television and the sport: fans needn’t miss any of the track action, the television companies can run their adverts and the sport has a qualifying system which works and is entertaining.

But in other areas striking this sort of balance may be very difficult. What if the sport tried to apply the same model to the race format?

Shorter races?

This is not unlikely - it was one of FOTA’s recommendations following its survey of F1 fans in March. Flavio Briatore and Felipe Massa were among those backing the idea, and Briatore has in the past suggested F1 should run to a GP2-style format with two races per weekend.

It’s not hard to see why this might appeal to television companies: two 45-minute races with a break in between could allow the races to be broadcast in full with advertising breaks confined to the ‘half-time’ break. This is similar to how A1 Grand Prix is broadcast on Sky Sports.

But would fans like it? As ever, please have your say below – but I’m going to hazard a guess that the response will be largely negative.

The best solution for F1 on TV

A poll on this site in March showed 89% of readers did not want to see race distances reducing. When much has already been done to make F1 more ‘TV-friendly’ – shorter circuits, maximum time limits etc… – this could be a concession too far.

The fixed Grand Prix distance of two hours or 200 miles is part of what defines the sport. From the lower echelons through F3 and GP2, race distances get progressively longer, building drivers up for the demands of Grand Prix racing.

FOTA has made a lot of strong arguments about how F1 should be run in the future and enjoys a lot of support from fans in its dispute with the FIA. But cutting race distances, for whatever reason, will in all likelihood cost them some of that good will.

Before going down the road of cutting race distances, FOTA should look at offering a two-tier solution for F1 fans: free coverage with ad-breaks for the masses, and an ad-free subscription service, perhaps with extra features and camera angles, for hardcore fans.

• Should F1 races be shorter? (Poll)
• Massa wants shorter F1 races

But the beaming face of a character whose body appeared to be made out of tyres and letters spelling out the word ‘Bibendum’ made it unmistakeably clear this was an old Michelin building:

Bibendum Restaurant

I later discovered this was Michelin House, which was built as the tyre manufacturers’ UK headquarters in 1911.

And portrayed on the side of the building was a picture of a special event that took place five years before Michelin House was built: the first ever Grand Prix:

Ferenc Szisz winning the 1906 French Grand Prix

The race was won by Hungarian Ferenc Szisz. But apart from the title ‘Grand Prix’ and the constructor of Szisz’s car – Renault – the event had little in common with what we recognise as Grand Prix racing today.

The event was run over two days, with 12 laps of a 64-mile loop of public roads. It was organised by the Automobile Club de France, and the significant innovation that set it apart from the road rallies that preceded it was that the roads would be specially closed for the occasion.

The roads were mainly made of tar, in the days before tarmac became ubiquitous. In little time the cars cut the road to pieces and the race became a gruelling struggle against dust, debris and punctured tyres.

Szisz’s tyres - which were, of course, Michelins - gave him a decisive advantage. As the cars burned through their rubber at a frantic rate, speedy tyre changes were vital. The detachable rims on the Michelin tyres allowed new tread to be fitted in two minutes instead of the usual 15.

Szisz took the chequered flag having covered the 12 laps - split into two days of six laps’ running - in 12 hours, 14 minutes, 7 seconds. His closest rival, Felice Nazzaro, was 32 minutes behind. It is not recorded whether the crowd grumbled about how processional Grand Prix racing had become.

You can take a peek at the building, now the Bibendum Restaurant, on Google Street View:

View Larger Map

Jenson Button will be at Goodwood along with Lewis Hamilton this year

Formula 1 cars from at least 14 different constructors will be demonstrated at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend.

They include a special tribute to Williams, Lewis Hamilton in one of Ayrton Senna’s old McLarens, the largest collection of Silver Arrows and, of course, plenty of modern F1 cars. Here’s a run-down of the F1 cars that will be taking to the hill.

Ferrari

Ferrari 312/68 (1967)

The car driven by Lorenzo Bandinii, Chris Amon and Ludovico Scarfiotti will run in the Classic Grand Prix Cars segment.

Ferrari 312T3 (1978)

This ex-Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari will be driven by Eddie Irvine on Saturday and Sunday, who raced for the team from 1996-1999.

Like Villeneuve, Irvine scored all of his Grand Prix wins for Ferrari, scoring four to Villeneuve’s six. The 312T3, in which Villeneuve scored his maiden win in his home race at Montreal that year, will run in the Evolution of the F1 Car group.

Ferrari F2008 (2008)

One of the six contemporary F1 cars to make an appearance, the 2008 Constructors’ Championship-winning F2008 will be piloted by Ferrari test driver Marc Gene on all three days.

McLaren

Leiws Hamilton will be driving Ayrton Senna's 1988 title-winning McLaren

McLaren-Mercedes MP4/23 (2008)

Both the 2008 championship-winning cars will be present as Lewis Hamilton takes the car in which he won last year’s drivers’ title up the hill on Sunday. Pedro de la Rosa will be at the wheel on Friday and Saturday.

The pair will also take turns to drive one person from the crowd up the hill in a 626bhp Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.

McLaren-Honda MP4/4 (1988)

One of the most successful cars of all time, the McLaren-Honda MP4/4 won 15 out of 16 races in the hands of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1988. Hamilton, a lifelong Senna fan, will realise a personal ambition when he drives the 1.5-litre turbo car on Sunday.

Before that the car will be driven by Senna’s nephew Bruno on Friday and Saturday.

Read more: Hamilton to drive Senna’s McLaren

Brawn GP

BGP 001 (2009)

The stand-out team of 2009, Brawn are bringing their championship-leading Brawn-Mercedes BGP 001, although it does not look like the car will be going up the hill (probably due to testing restrictions).

Jenson Button has been a regular visitor to the Festival and will return on Sunday this year. It will be interesting to see if the rapturous reception Hamilton received on his last two appearances is extended to Button as well.

Red Bull

Red Bull RB2 or Toro Rosso STR1… (2006)

According to Goodwood’s press release: “the Red Bull-Cosworth STR1 will smoke its tyres all weekend with Mark Webber and David Coulthard behind the wheel”. Whether this turns out to be a Red Bull RB2 or Toro Rosso STR1 remains to be seen (expect the former).

Coulthard will be present on all three days and will also drive a Williams (see below) and the same W154 as Button. Webber is only expected to appear on Saturday.

Toyota

Timo Glock will take to the Goodwood hill once again

Toyota TF108 (2008)

Timo Glock is another regular at Goodwood, and will demonstrate the TF108 in which he scored a career-best second at the Hungaroring last year. And, of course, played a starring role in that title decider. He’ll be at Goodwood on all three days.

Toyota will also have a static display of the Andros Trophy Auris ice-racing car in which former F1 champion Alain Prost won the championship in 2007 and 2008, before losing the crown this year.

Williams

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Frank Williams’ first foray into Grand Prix racing, the man himself will be at Goodwood on the Sunday. Along with what appears to be a growing roster of their cars, star Williams drivers from the past including Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Alan Jones and Riccardo Patrese will join in.

Williams-Cosworth FW06 and FW07 (1979 and 1980)

In addition to the three cars Williams announced it would be bringing to Goodwood (below), Alan Jones is now also slated to appear in two of the cars he drove for the team in 1979 and 1980. These cars are scheduled to appear on all three days, with touring car driver Anthony Reid also piloting the FW07.

Williams-Renault FW16B (1995)

Another addition to the Williams roster is the FW16B - the revised version of their 1994 car which made its debut at that year’s German Grand Prix. David Coulthard, who made his fourth Grand Prix start in the car, will drive it.

Williams-Cosworth FW08B (1982)

Formula Three racer Sam Bird is set to drive the FW08B in which Keke Rosberg won the 1982 drivers’ championship, on all three days.

Williams-Renault FW18 (1996)

Damon Hill will drive his championship-winning car on Sunday. Williams tester and GP2 racer Nico Hülkenberg will take care of the driving duties on the other two days.

Williams-Toyota FW29 (2007)

Nico Hülkenberg will drive the most recent Williams at the event.

Read more: Williams to demonstrate three F1 cars at Goodwood Festival of Speed (Video)

Life

Life L190 (1990)

As revealed here yesterday, the worst F1 car ever will be taken up the hill by Derek Bell during the weekend. Life’s L190 from the 1990 season was a disastrous failure that rarely completed more than a handful of laps and usually toured around at least 15 seconds off the pace of the next slowest car.

It has apparently been restored to a state where it can make it up the Goodwood hill, in which case it is probably in better condition than when it was built.

Read more: Life L190 – the worst F1 car ever – to run at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Cooper

Cooper T51 (1959)

Fresh from his victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours, David Brabham will drive his father’s Cooper T51 on all three days.

Sir Jack Brabham won the world championship with the T51 in 1959, the first for a rear-engined Formula 1 car.

Lotus

Lotus-Renault 97T (1985)

The turbo-powered Lotus which Ayrton Senna won his first Grand Prix in will be driven by ex-Lotus F1 driver Martin Donnelly on all three days.

Vanwall

Sir Stirling Moss is also expected to drive a Vanwall, though the model designation of the car has not yet been announced.

Benetton

Benetton-Ford B188 (1988-89)

Takuma Sato will drive a Benetton from the days when the ‘United Colours of Benetton’ meant just that - Its green, yellow, red and blue livery is one of the most distinctive ever seen in F1.

Matra

Matra-Ford MS10

The theme of this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed is “True Grit: Epic Feats of Endurance”. That explains the presence of Sir Jackie Stewart’s Matra-Ford MS10 from 1968.

In it, he won the German Grand Prix at the fearsome Nürburgring in rain and fog - with a four-minute lead over his closest rival at the chequered flag. Stewart managed this despite driving with one wrist in a plaster cast - truly an awesome feat.

Stewart will be at Goodwood on Saturday and Sunday - and he’ll be driving another of his cars as well:

Tyrrell

Tyrrell-Ford 002

Stewart never actually raced the 002 - it was used by team mate Francois Cevert in 1971 and 1972. When Cevert was killed in practice for the last race of 1973 at Watkins Glen, Stewart chose not to compete in what would have been his 100th and final Grand Prix.

Mercedes

Stirling Moss will get back behind the wheel of a Mercedes W196

Marking 75 years since the emergence of the German ‘Silver Arrows’, the largest collection of such cars in one places is planned for the Goodwood Festival this weekend, including four Mercedes.

Of course, most of these pre-date the formation of the world championship in 1950.

Mercedes W25 (1934) and W125 (1937)

Former McLaren F1 racer Jochen Mass will drive these two pre-war cars.

Mercedes W134 (1938)

Jenson Button and David Coulthard will take turns to drive a 1938 Mercedes W134 up the hill.

Mercedes W196 (1954)

Moss will also be driving a Mercedes. He will be back behind the wheel of the W196 he raced in the mid-fifties alongside Juan Manuel Fangio.

Auto Union

Accompanying the Mercedes will be at least two Auto Unions:

Auto Union Type A (1934)

The driver for the Type A is yet to be announced.

Auto Union Type D (1938)

Former F1 driver and six-time Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx will drive the Type D, as will Pink Floyd drummer and motoring enthusiast Nick Mason.

F1 personalities

Other F1 personalities expected to be at Goodwood include:

John Surtees, the only man to win both the F1 woprld championship (in 1964) and the motorcycle world championship. Later a team owner, Surtees will drive one of his TS10 Formula Two cars, as will son Henry, who is currently racing in Formula Two.

Johnny Herbert will drive a British Touring Car Honda Civic.

Murray Walker, Patrick Head, Christian Horner, Adrian Newey and David Richards are also expected to attend.

Who’s going?

Are you going to the Goodwood Festival of Speed? What are you most looking forward to this year?

If you’re not able to make it, and there’s a car running you especially want to see lots of pictures of, let me know and I’ll do the best I can.

• Pictures: Goodwood Festival of Speed 2008 - current generation F1 cars
• Pictures: Goodwood Festival of Speed 2008 - F1 cars from 1952-2003
• Pictures from Goodwood 2007