McLaren at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed: A Celebration of Senna and more

McLaren will celebrate how more than six decades of motorsport success continues to inspire its supercars today at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Headlining McLaren’s presence, the McLaren Senna with Senna Sempre livery will take centre stage at McLaren House, paying tribute to Ayrton Senna’s legacy while also providing a public viewing of the craftsmanship delivered by McLaren Special Operations (MSO) that is displayed on this unique McLaren Senna from McLaren’s heritage collection.

The 30-year legacy of Ayrton Senna, who won three Formula 1 World Championships with McLaren before his passing in 1994, has been a significant milestone within the 2024 Formula 1 calendar. At the Monaco Grand Prix, McLaren revealed the McLaren Senna with Senna Sempre livery alongside a unique livery for the MCL38 Formula 1 cars raced by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The MCL38 with its unique Monaco Grand Prix livery will also be showcased, giving McLaren fans a chance to see the two cars together.  

In association with the Ayrton Senna Institute, the McLaren Senna with Senna Sempre livery is the result of months of tenacious work by experienced designers and paint technicians at MSO. The same team that delivers incredible bespoke commissions for customer cars, and groundbreaking projects such as the 750S with 3-7-59 Theme has created an emotive tribute. Bright colours that visually represent Ayrton’s vibrant personality and outlook on life combine with newly developed paint techniques and exquisite artworks of Senna, along with references to his three Formula 1 World Championship titles and five Monaco Grand Prix victories with McLaren.

Joining the centrepiece, a spectacular array of cars will be on display at McLaren House and in action on the famous Goodwood hillclimb, while a line-up of drivers and representatives channelling McLaren’s illustrious Formula 1 history will take part in proceedings over the weekend, both behind the wheel and on stage.

Ayrton’s nephew, former Formula 1 driver and McLaren Automotive brand ambassador, Bruno Senna, will be at the wheel of his uncle’s 1991 title winning McLaren MP4/6 – the only title winning Formula 1 car powered by a V12 engine and the final championship winning chassis to use a manual gearbox. The car was driven by Ayrton Senna to seven Grand Prix victories, as he claimed his third and final Formula 1 title.

Double McLaren Formula 1 world champion Mika Häkkinen will drive a remarkable Solus GT up the hill on Saturday in a demonstration run. One of 25 customer cars that will be delivered as part of the Solus GT programme, the bespoke commission which bears Mika Häkkinen’s name, has been painted to match the McLaren MP4/13 that the Finn drove to the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship in 1998. This process has been overseen by a technician at MSO who was responsible for painting the original racing car. The F1 car’s livery has been recreated expertly and applied on the lightweight body and extreme aero of the Solus GT – even the paint colours used have been mixed to match the ageing process that has taken place on the original Formula 1 car’s bodywork.

The Solus GT returns to the Goodwood Festival of Speed following Timed Shootout victory at the 2023 event. McLaren Factory Driver Marvin Kirchhöfer stormed to the top of the timesheet with a run of 45.342 seconds, as the Solus GT made its global dynamic debut over the weekend.

2024 marks the 50^th anniversary of McLaren’s first Formula 1 World Championship victories, sealing both the World Driver’s and Constructor’s titles in 1974 with Emerson Fittipaldi and the McLaren M23. Celebrating the half century milestone of this landmark moment in McLaren history, the Brazilian double World Champion will return to the wheel of his 1974 title winning car. Continuing the 50th anniversary celebrations, the 1974 Indy 500 winning M16C/D will be on display in the McLaren garage in the Formula 1 paddock, recognising Johnny Rutherford’s achievement in sealing the first leg of the prestigious ‘Triple Crown of Motorsport’ for McLaren.

McLaren’s first ever High-Performance Hybrid convertible supercar, the Artura Spider, will make its UK dynamic debut and will be joined on the hill by the 750S, McLaren’s lightest and most powerful series production supercar, plus the new McLaren GTS, and Ultimate Series vehicles from McLaren’s heritage collection including a McLaren Senna and a McLaren P1.^TM 

“This year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed will see McLaren deliver another milestone event that will delight our fans and bring to life our immense racing heritage, through not only the cars that have delivered race wins and championships, but the drivers that took them there. These iconic cars, and incredible drivers, continue to inspire us and drive us to deliver supercars that push the boundaries of performance on road and track.” – Michael Leiters, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive