Goodwood is delighted to announce that four-time Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel will attend this year’s Festival of Speed. The newly-retired driver – one of the sport’s most popular figures – will make a special return to the sell-out motorsport event, following his attendance in 2012.
Joining us on Saturday and Sunday, Vettel will take to the Goodwood Hill in a number of cars from his personal collection, including his ex-Nigel Mansell 1992 Williams FW14B and ex-Ayrton Senna 1993 McLaren MP4/8. Well known as a fan of motorsport history, it is no surprise that his own collection features these iconic cars from the careers of two of the sport’s most celebrated figures.
Over the weekend, fans will be able to gather and salute his extraordinary Formula 1 career, as the Festival of Speed hosts a celebratory ‘balcony moment’ for Vettel. His visit to the 2023 Festival of Speed is his second to Goodwood, following his attendance in 2012, the 20th edition of the event, where he shared driving duties with team-mate Mark Webber in the 2011 title-winning Red Bull RB7. Fitting then, that he joins us as we celebrate 30 years of the Festival of Speed and 75 years of motorsport history and heritage at Goodwood.
Sebastian Vettel, who retired from his active career as a Formula 1 driver at the end of 2022, is still one of the most prominent voices in motorsport. He launched his alternative fuels campaign “Race without Trace” in front of an audience of millions at the 2022 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, driving the iconic Williams FW14B – Nigel Mansell’s “Red Five Single-Seater” World Championship car – fuelled only with e-fuels. This was just of a whole series of sustainable projects that Vettel has started, challenging both the pace at which the motorsport industry is moving, as well as the science, famously saying: “THERE IS STILL A RACE TO WIN.”
As the Festival of Speed continues to champion the future of mobility and automotive technology, with the expansion of Electric Avenue and a growing number of alternatively fuelled vehicles, we are delighted to support Sebastian Vettel’s wish to only drive cars running on synthetic fuel at the event. At the 2023 Festival of Speed, approximately 20% of the vehicles at the event will run on alternative fuels – whether that’s hydrogen, electric or synthetic.
The role of alternative fuels at Goodwood’s headline motorsport events is rapidly evolving. At the 2022 Goodwood Revival and 80th Members’ Meeting, synthetic fuels made their debuts on the Goodwood Motor Circuit and at this September’s Revival, the Fordwater Trophy will see a grid of 30 pre-66 Porsche 911s race on synthetic fuels – the first time a race like this has ever been held.
Ahead of his return to Goodwood for the 2023 Festival of Speed, Sebastian Vettel said: “It’s great to be coming back to Goodwood after all these years. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of some of my most memorable cars which will be running on sustainable fuel over the weekend. I’m a passionate racer and it’s important to me that we continue to enjoy driving iconic racing cars today and in the future, but that we do so in a responsible way.”
The Duke of Richmond said: “I am enormously excited to welcome Sebastian back to Goodwood this summer. I know our fans will be delighted to have an opportunity to celebrate his incredible career and to see him in action on the Hill. His attitude towards sourcing alternative fuels absolutely aligns with our plans across the event and the wider Estate to ensure we are shining a light on this important topic and protect motorsport for the next generation.”
