Reigning Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris and MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi headline Friday’s running of the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed, in a Monster Energy celebration of Norris’s maiden title.
According to Goodwood Road & Racing, the pair top the bill on day two of the festival, which runs from 9-12 July in West Sussex, with both stars set to appear on Friday and Saturday. McLaren have confirmed the weekend forms part of the team’s celebration of the first world championship won by Lando Norris, sealed by just two points from Max Verstappen at last season’s Abu Dhabi finale.
Norris arrives in West Sussex fresh from the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, and Goodwood anticipates a similarly passionate reception from the festival crowd this weekend.
Valentino Rossi Joins Lando Norris For First Goodwood Visit Since 2015
Rossi, a nine-time grand prix motorcycle world champion, is making his first Festival of Speed appearance since 2015, according to Goodwood. Motorsport.com reports the duo will share a balcony moment at Goodwood House on Friday afternoon, with Norris returning to centre stage on Saturday.
The champion will drive his McLaren MCL60 — the car that carried him to seven podium finishes in 2023 — up the hill on Saturday, with reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli handling driving duties on the festival’s remaining days, McLaren confirmed. The Monster Energy pairing crowns a festival that has already seen Adrian Newey’s Red Bull RB17 make its running debut on Thursday.
Norris’s appearance marks the second time in three years that the reigning F1 champion has attended the event, after Verstappen’s headline visit in 2024 — and Saturday’s balcony moment now looms as the weekend’s biggest draw.
