Newey, Brawn and Murray to champion F1’s innovation at Festival of Speed

Goodwood is set to play host to many of Formula 1’s most remarkable cars as the Festival of Speed shines a spotlight on the incredible minds that introduced brand new ways of thinking when it comes to designing a racing car.

Adrian Newey is more than just a part of these celebrations, though. The current Aston Martin ‘Managing Technical Partner’ has had a hand in curating the Innovators class of cars that will feature at the Festival of Speed, both on the Hill and in the paddocks.

The man who has designed Championship-winning cars for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull has given his seal of approval on the list of innovative creations we’ll all be getting a close look at over the course of the event, and he’ll be in attendance to soak in the atmosphere once again.

Newey will be joined by his long-time rival Ross Brawn, the technical mastermind behind all seven of Michael Schumacher’s World Championships with Benetton and Ferrari, and Gordon Murray, the man behind one of the most remarkable F1 innovations in history, the BT46B ‘fan car’.

Brawn remains one of the most respected figures in F1. Even after he left the Mercedes team at the end of 2013, his penchant for strategy and technical development was the catalyst for a huge amount of success over the course of three decades.

The peak of his career, however, was arguably in 2009, when the team he rescued from liquidation caused one of F1’s greatest ever shocks when it appeared on the grid as Brawn GP. The car, which Brawn had overseen the development of, perfected the implementation of the ingenious double diffuser to win both World Championships. 

His expertise was eventually sought after by F1 itself, and Brawn helped to shape the future of the sport before retiring from life in the paddock in 2022.

These three legends of F1 have all taken different paths in their careers. Newey remains focused on winning Championships, Brawn turned from competitor to law maker, and Gordon Murray made the bold move from racing cars to road cars.

Murray celebrates 60 years of car design at the 2025 Festival of Speed, and a major part of that timeline includes his hugely successful years in F1, where he designed several of the cars set to be featured in the Innovators class. He spent more than a decade with the Brabham team, winning Championships with Nelson Piquet, before heading to McLaren for another hugely successful period working on the legendary MP4/4 and subsequent Championship-winning machinery.

He made the switch to road car design in 1991 and set the bar pretty high with his first creation, the McLaren F1, but has since begun work on a stunning portfolio of work with his own company, Gordon Murray Automotive.

The T.50, GMA’s first production car,  incorporates a refreshed version of the fan system that Murray first deployed in the back of his Brabham BT46B F1 car.

These three great minds have helped to shape the history and future of F1, eras have been defined by their brilliance, and many of the sport’s greatest drivers owe their success to the technical genius of Newey, Brawn and Murray.

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.

Goodwood photography by Drew Gibson and Joe Harding.