Video: 12 game-changing F1 cars grace the Festival of Speed Hill

As part of this monumental occasion, we were treated to a vast collection of the most significant cars from every era of the sport on the Goodwood Hill. The cars that helped to shape the sport that we enjoy today, 75 years after the Alfa Romeo 158 ‘Alfetta’ first stormed to victory at the inaugural World Championship Grand Prix.

Since then, the world’s greatest motorsport minds have been busy generating new innovative ideas to try and change the game in the name of success. Here we have 12 such cars that altered the way designers thought about their F1 creations.

Although not overtly successful, and eventually cast aside as a failed experiment, the six-wheeled Tyrrell P34 caused several other manufacturers, including Williams, to consider developing their own six-wheel cars. The smaller front wheels were inspired by a desire to tidy up airflow and create a more efficient design, and it proved incredibly successful in 1976, winning once and claiming nine more podium finishes. Although it didn’t ultimately catch on, and six-wheeled cars were eventually banned from the sport, the P34 caused quite the stir.

The rest of the cars on this list can be far more directly associated with lasting changes in the history of F1. Whether it’s the introduction of aerodynamic wings, turbocharging, carbon-fibre construction, automatic transmission, active suspension, or even the positioning of the engine to the rear of the car, the 2025 Festival of Speed had examples of all these game changers, and more, in action on the Hill.

It's only when you see all these cars from all eras of F1 in such proximity that you realise just how nuanced the advancement of technology and design within the sport has been. It begs the question, where will we be in 75 years’ time?

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