Haas founder to take on famed Goodwood Festival of Speed hillclimb in F1 car

Gene Haas, founder of the Haas Formula 1 team, is set to get behind the wheel of the VF23 at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The 72-year-old will join the team’s 2025 drivers, Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman, team principal Ayao Komatsu, and Kazuki Nakajima, vice chairman of Toyota’s WEC programme.

The American team is making its debut at the prestigious event as part of its celebrations to mark 10 seasons in F1. Driven by those mentioned above, the VF23 and VF24 will be taken up the famed hillclimb.

Haas will be the only team to have an interactive hub at the event as well as a space in the Ballroom Paddock. The team’s first F1 car, the VF16, as well as the current VF25 contender, will be on display. Items from the team’s archives, including race suits, helmets, car parts, and memorabilia, will also be on show for those visiting.

“I’m so glad to finally announce our debut at the 2025 Festival of Speed, it’s a secret that’s been very hard to keep,” Komatsu previously explained.

“It makes perfect sense for us to celebrate our tenth season in the sport with some of the most knowledgeable and passionate fans in the world, and it’s the first time we’ve been able to activate at such a scale off-track like this, so I’d like to thank The Duke of Richmond and his team for making this possible for our team.

“There are going to be a lot more announcements to come around what we’re going to be doing at Goodwood, it’s going to be one of the highlights of our year.”

Gene Haas, Haas VF-23, founder of Haas F1 Team, Ayao Komatsu, Team principal Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Haas F1 Team

Ocon also shared his excitement about returning to Festival of Speed.

“The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an amazing event. I’ve been there once in the past but I’m really looking forward to going with the team this year as it is 10 seasons since MoneyGram Haas F1 Team joined Formula 1.

“We’re going to have lots of exciting things to show – it’s a celebration for us – and it’s great that we can share with fans as well. It’s always fun as we’re driving the cars we love and on top of that, there’s no pressure – you’re there just to have fun and share those moments with everyone there. It’s always a beautiful event, I’m excited to look around and see the historical cars with a lot of history and passion, I might bring my family as well as they’ve never been.”  

The 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed will take place on 10 to 13 July.

Photos from Austrian GP – Race