Six single‑seaters to see at Revival 2021

Lotus 18

It’s the first Goodwood Revival since the passing of Sir Stirling Moss in April 2020, so a nod to Mr Goodwood was an absolute must. A number of significant Moss cars will be in attendance, both for a parade and for racing at the Revival. Among them is the Lotus 18 with which he fended off pressure from newer more advanced factory-backed Ferraris, to take victory at the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix. Moss considered this drive his very best, in an incredible – if shortened – career we need not remind you of. 

Alfa Romeo 158 Alfetta 

This Alfa Romeo 158 Alfetta is an essential inclusion in the first chapters of the history of Formula 1. For it is the car that dominated the sport’s very first official season. In 1950, either in the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio or Giuseppe Farina, 158s won every single race they entered. In 1951, it took four wins. See it racing at Goodwood in the Festival of Britain Trophy.

BRM P261

At a distance and to the casual observer, the F1 legends of the Glover Trophy can appear similar in appearance and difficult to distinguish from one another. Not so the BRM P261, identifiable by its distinctive orange ‘lipstick’ on its snout. There’s good reason beyond bodywork makeup look out for a specific P261 at Revival 2021, however. Firstly, it’s the car that won the Italian Grand Prix in 1966 and Monaco GP with Jackie Stewart. Secondly, Le Mans legend and Goodwood star Dickie Attwood will be driving it.

Aston Martin DBR4

The Aston Martin DBR4 was not a remarkable car in period. In the two years that it was active in 1959 and 1960, it won precisely no races. Trivially, however, it was until recently Aston Martin’s only works entry, before Racing Point became Aston Martin F1 for 2021. So while the DBR4 isn’t significant in terms of its achievements, it’s a car of note in this, the year Aston returned to Formula 1 properly for the first time in 61 years. It’s also rather pretty, we’d say.

ERA E-Type GP1

Speaking of top lookers that weren’t up to much, we give you the ERA E-Type GP1. This was a machine conceived by ERA to straddle the Grand Prix and Voiturette single-seater classes in the immediate pre-war years. In appearance and some underpinnings, it took great inspiration from the dominant Grand Prix Mercedes-Benzes of the period, minus a powerplant to make it come alive or dynamics to inspire confidence and pace. Arriving just before Britain joined the war, the E-Type GP1 didn’t get even half a chance to prove its worth. Off the back of the successes of the A- to D-Types, the E-Type arguably was a total flop but compared to those boxy beasts, it remains a knockout beauty today. See it race in the Festival of Britain Trophy. 

Alfa Romeo 308C

Alfa Romeo is far from the biggest name in F1 today, suffering as it does in the lower half of the standings. A far cry from when Enzo himself was a privateer buying and racing Alfa Romeos under his Scuderia Ferrari team. Cars from the glory days of Alfa in GP racing are never far away at Revival and joining the Alfetta we mentioned above is a 308C. Considered by most to be the last still racing, it’ll be driven by Goodwood’s favourite madman Julian Mazjub in the Festival of Britain Trophy.

Photography courtesy of Motorsport Images, Jochen Van Cauwenberg and Amy Shore