Goodwood FoS: Pt.2 – F1

Directly after the classic racing bikes were a small group of modern era Formula 1 cars. No 2009 cars are allowed to take part in the Festival runs due to this season’s test ban regulations, and the running here would bizarrely count as testing and as the track commentator said, quite what they would learn doing burnouts up a 1.1-mile narrow lane remains unanswered. The F1 teams had to run older cars instead, most choosing 2008 versions with Red Bull running a 2006 Toro Rosso in a current Red Bull Racing livery. BrawnGP were the only team to bring a 2009-spec car which remained on static display in the main paddock – they claimed it is the same chassis that will appear in Germany this weekend but I think that’s PR guff. Despite this minor setback the drivers put on an excellent show, notable Timo Glock who was doing burnouts galore and getting his car sideways throughout his runs!

Timo Glock, Toyota TF108, from 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed

David Coulthard took the morning run for Red Bull before taking the helicopter to Wimbledon where he was spotted on TV that afternoon. Interestingly, his motorhome was seen at the Renault World Series event at Silverstone.

David Coulthard, 2006 Red Bull STR1, from 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Also running on Sunday were Marc Gene in a Ferrari F2008, and some guy called Pierangelo Masselli in a Ferrari F300 of 1998. I got a photo of the ’98 car, and a video of the ’08 car which I’ll keep back for now. 😉

Ferrari F300, from 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Needless to say all of these cars were very loud and very energetic! I’m not sure if my hearing is going and it probably is after attending events like this, but they did seem a little quieter than usual, it’s probably me though. There was a definite difference in sound between the 2008 cars and the Red Bull and earlier Ferrari, which were both more shrill and peaky with their higher-revving engines. Once the cars had departed I headed into the infield to have a wander around, not really sure where to go next. I elected to locate some lunch and was surprised to find they were charging £5.50 for a burger!! A bit of meat in two bits of bread. Okay so it was top organic stuff from their own farm, with a fresh salad in it instead of the muck from McD’s, but still, there’s a principle at stake here. You don’t pay that for a burger. So I stuck to my packet of crisps and head to the Mercedes stand because I’d heard they were bringing the new SLR Stirling Moss Edition. Sure enough, they had!

SLRs past and present, from 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed

I adore this car. They’d placed it next to the SLR of the type Moss had driven in events such as the Mille Miglia in the 1950s. The similarities are striking, yet the new car is unmistakebly modern. I have no idea how they did it. Several other Mercedes were on display of course, but I wasn’t that interested – what did catch my eye were the signs proclaiming Jenson Button’s interview session in this very pavilion at 3pm, so I decided I should have to come back for that. I had three hours to kill.