F1 drivers to see at the 2025 Festival of Speed

A quick run through the stats says that the F1 driver contingent at the 2025 Festival of Speed has amassed 14 World Championships, 208 wins, 532 podiums and 5,668 points from a combined 2,769 Grand Prix starts across seven decades. The oldest is 86 years old, the youngest, 20. 

As it stands, seven of the 22 drivers are World Champions, a list that includes some of the greatest of all time. Four-time champion Alain Prost is joined by Sir Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Jacques Villeneuve and Mika Häkkinen. They’ll be represented in the Champions class of the Festival of Speed’s F1 75 celebrations that will take centre stage across all four days of the event.

Joining them will be a long list of race-winning drivers. Riccardo Patrese, the six-time winner whose 256 Grand Prix starts was a record for 15 years; Gerhard Berger, who scored his ten wins for Ferrari, McLaren and Benetton; Mark Webber, who enjoyed nine wins during Red Bull’s first era of dominance, and Jacky Ickx, who took eight wins as Ferrari’s lead driver throughout the late 1960s and early ‘70s.

Five-time winner John Watson will also be in attendance, he enjoyed a period of success with the McLaren team during the early 1980s. Johnny Herbert will of course be a hugely popular presence. A three-time winner, he took two of the more memorable victories of the 1990s, first at the 1995 British Grand Prix for Benetton, and then a remarkable result for the Stewart team at the 1999 European Grand Prix.

Esteban Ocon, who will be at the Festival of Speed with his Haas F1 team, will also be recognised for his memorable win at the Hungaroring in 2021.

But the list doesn’t stop there. Kevin Magnussen, Ollie Bearman, Karun Chandhok, Stefan Johansson, Emanuele Pirro, David Brabham and Arturo Merzario will also be in action both around the paddocks and on the Hill across the event.

Moreover, Williams development driver, three-time W Series Champion and current European Le Mans Series leader Jamie Chadwick will also be climbing into the cockpit of the Williams FW14B, alongside current Williams F1 Academy driver Lia Block.

This is a list that has the potential to continue growing over the coming weeks in the build up to the Festival of Speed, so keep an eye on our coverage here on GRR to keep up with all the announcements as they happen.

The 2025 Festival of Speed takes place on 10^th-13^th July. Friday and Saturday tickets are now sold out, but Thursday and limited Sunday tickets are still available.

Images courtesy of Getty Images.