Sargeant and Albon to drive Williams FW08 at 2024 Festival of Speed

All four are set to drive the legendary Williams FW08 on the Goodwood Hill – the car Keke Rosberg won his only F1 World Championship in – which will be the first time Block has driven a Williams F1 car.

Current Williams F1 drivers Albon and Sargeant will drive and meet fans on Thursday and Friday while Block is scheduled to appear on Saturday and Vowles on Sunday. 

While Albon and Sargeant are no strangers to either the Festival of Speed or classic F1 cars, this will also be the first time that Team Principal James Vowles has driven a Williams racing car since he took over in 2022. While not a regular F1 driver, Vowles has raced regularly, including competing in the Asian Le Mans Series in 2022.

The Williams FW08 delivered the team’s second F1 title triumph in 1982 driven by Keke Rosberg and Derek Daly. While Williams itself finished fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, a victory in the Swiss Grand Prix at Dijon and podiums in Belgium and Austria were enough to give Rosberg the Drivers’ title. 

Lia, the daughter of Goodwood and motorsport legend Ken Block, joined Williams this season to represent the team in F1 academy. This year is her first foray into circuit racing and single-seaters after graduating through rallying, as the youngest champion in ARA history in the open two-wheel class. She has also claimed victory in the Pro-Stock class of the gruelling Baja 1000.

Speaking about the appearance at the Festival, Vowles said: "We are looking forward to being at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed and sharing our passion for motorsport with fans from around the world.

“The Festival of Speed is such a beloved and unique event and gives us the opportunity to celebrate the rich heritage of Williams Racing and motorsport as a whole. It will be a dream come true for me to drive a title-winning heritage Williams F1 car. We can't wait to take on the hill climb and put on a show for the incredible crowds that gather at Goodwood each year."

The Duke of Richmond, founder of the Festival of Speed, added: “I am delighted that Williams Racing are joining us at the Festival of Speed this year with such a stellar line-up of drivers and the FW08, which so brilliantly aligns with our theme, ‘Revolutions in Power’. 

“Our fans are always hugely excited to see Formula 1 teams, cars and drivers in action and, like them, I’m very much looking forward to watching Alex, Logan, James and Lia take to the Hill.”

FW08 and Albon and Sargeant images courtesy of Motorsport images