From Norris and Rossi to Hill’s Williams reunion – The top 5 highlights from the Goodwood Festival of Speed

The 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed was certainly an event to remember, with a host of F1 stars – and some incredible machinery – entertaining the fans at the Goodwood House estate.

There were a number of memorable moments across the four days of action, from Lando Norris being joined by Moto GP legend Valentino Rossi on the balcony, through to the new generation of drivers mixing with icons from the past.

For all of that and more, check out F1.com’s round-up of the top five highlights from this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed…

Norris and Rossi delight fans on the balcony

Reigning World Champion Norris headed to Goodwood on Saturday, where he tackled the famous hillclimb in the MCL60, McLaren’s 2023 F1 car. The Briton also went for a spin in McLaren Racing’s World Endurance Championship Hypercar, the MCL-HY, in its global public debut.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement, there was more to come when Norris greeted a cheering crowd of fans from the famous balcony of Goodwood House – before soon being joined by nine-time Moto GP World Champion Rossi.

It certainly made for a standout moment, with Norris having spoken previously of Rossi being one of his heroes.

Hill reunites with title-winning car after 30 years

Another World Championship-winning driver was in action at Goodwood, with Damon Hill being part of a very special reunion.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of his 1996 title, Hill got behind the wheel of the restored Williams FW18 – the car in which he took the crown – for an unforgettable demo. The British racer admitted afterwards that he had “absolutely loved every second of it”.

Hill was not alone in enjoying the festivities, with Williams Team Principal James Vowles also getting to drive the famous challenger.

Antonelli makes his Goodwood debut

While some well-known faces were making a return appearance at the Festival of Speed, the 2026 event marked championship leader Kimi Antonelli’s debut.

The Mercedes driver experienced his first run up the Hill in a Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed, leaving the Italian to comment afterwards: “I want to do more laps!”

Antonelli also met some of the many fans in attendance, while Third Driver Fred Vesti went on to get behind the wheel of Mercedes’ 2022 F1 car, the W13 – decked out in 2026 livery – as the event continued.

Current F1 drivers mix with icons of the past

Antonelli was not the only name to join the Goodwood action for the first time, as a host of current F1 drivers enjoyed the festivities alongside several icons of the sport.

Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad were in action for Racing Bulls, as was Red Bull racer Isack Hadjar, while Alpine had Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto in their line-up. The latter seemed to relish his maiden appearance at the event, performing donuts for the crowd in the E20 F1 car.

Several of these names from the current grid were seen rubbing shoulders with some famed stars of the past, too, including the likes of Jackie Stewart and Mario Andretti.

A new generation of stars take on the hillclimb

This year’s line-up at the Festival of Speed also saw a number of up-and-coming drivers from the junior categories get the opportunity to face the famous Goodwood hillclimb.

As well as reserve drivers Fred Vesti, Leonardo Fornaroli, Paul Aron and Jak Crawford being in action for Mercedes, McLaren, Alpine and Aston Martin respectively, F2 championship leader Nikola Tsolov marked his Goodwood debut by driving the Red Bull RB8, while fellow Formula 2 star Alex Dunne was at the wheel of the E20 for Alpine.

Meanwhile Alisha Palmowski – who sits at the top of the F1 ACADEMY standings – drove Red Bull’s RB17 Hypercar, and rival Nina Gademan also got to tackle the Hill in the E20.