Liam Lawson has ‘scary’ experience at Goodwood Festival of Speed before driving iconic Red Bull

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Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson could not stop smiling after a “scary” run up the iconic hill at Goodwood Festival of Speed in a 1,000hp Gunther Werks F-26 Porsche.

Lawson is one of several F1 figures to utilise the break in the calendar after the British Grand Prix to take a trip to Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend. Mercedes’ F1 championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli also attended the celebrated event in Chichester this Thursday.

Pierre Gasly of Alpine also attended Goodwood FOS on Thursday, and McLaren’s defending F1 champion Lando Norris is due to take to the iconic hill on Saturday. Red Bull are set to run a flurry of their stable, with Isack Hadjar, Yuki Tsunoda and Ayumu Iwasa due to join Lawson.

Which F1 car would you love to take for a spin at Goodwood’s Festival of Speed?

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Liam Lawson was left smiling after his ‘scary’ Goodwood Festival of Speed run in a 1,000hp custom Porsche

Red Bull have offered Racing Bulls star Lawson the opportunity to sample an array of cars at Goodwood FOS this year, including the legendary RB8 that Sebastian Vettel won the 2012 F1 drivers’ championship in. Vettel scored five wins in 20 races en route to pipping Ferrari racer Fernando Alonso to the 2012 title in the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix by three points.

READ MORE: The best moments of Liam Lawson’s career in Formula 1

Lawson’s first run up the iconic hill at Goodwood was also in a 1,067hp Gunther Werks F-26, which is a £1.2m recreation of a 993-generation Porsche 911 Slantnose from the 1970s. It is a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre flat six beast with 750lb ft of torque using a six-speed gearbox.

After Lawson’s run up the hill in the Gunther Werks F-26, the 24-year-old could not hide the smile from his face, despite describing the run as “quite scary”. The Kiwi had visibly tried to push the limits and even dipped into the grass, although he took it easier near the flint wall.

“Yeah, more of a personal passion to drive something like this,” Lawson told the Goodwood FOS livestream (10/07, 11:13).

“I’ve spent a bit of time with it in the US, the Gunther Werks F-26, and yeah, it’s good, 1,000 horsepower, H-pattern gearbox. So, up the hill is quite scary, but it’s good fun.”

Lawson added: “If you’re into cars, or bikes, and everything else, there is really nowhere better to go. So, it’s cool. I hope to have a look around later on because it looks like there’s some cool stuff here.

“But I’ve got a little bit of driving to do first and some other stuff, as well… [The] RB8 after this, and then I’ve got some other Ford stuff later on. I got the T1 Raptor. I think I’ve got the Super Van tomorrow, as well. So, I basically just asked to drive whatever is available.”

If you were Max Verstappen, would you stay at Red Bull or move on?

Verstappen has been linked with McLaren, but could also retire or take a sabbatical

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Lawson’s run up the hill at Goodwood Festival of Speed driving the Gunther Werks F-26 was the latest highlight moment amid what has been a positive 2026 F1 season for the Kiwi. The Racing Bulls star sits 10th in the drivers’ standings after nine rounds, with 39 points scored.

The 24-year-old has even scored 66% of Racing Bulls’ points alongside his rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad, who has 20 points so far. Lawson has even secured points in each of the last five Grands Prix, and seven of the last eight, having never previously secured points in more than two successive races. He has also finished in P6 twice – coming in Monaco and Britain.

Such has been his form that Lawson could replace Max Verstappen at Red Bull next year if the four-time champion decides to leave and the parent team opt to promote a driver from Racing Bulls. Red Bull are not believed to favour moving Lawson or Lindblad over, however.