Back in April, organisers of the 2025 Silverstone Festival (22-24 August) unveiled plans for the World Champion Collection – an unprecedented line-up featuring a title-winning car from each of Formula 1’s 34 World Champions. The display will celebrate the sport’s 75th anniversary at the very circuit where the inaugural World Championship race took place on 30 May 1950.
Since then, several exciting developments have been confirmed, with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull Racing all pledging cars from their respective collections for the showcase.
As one of the most successful teams in F1 history, seven of the 34 Championship-winning machines were built by Frank Williams’ eponymous outfit. Five such cars will be showcased by the Williams team, including Nigel Mansell’s iconic 1992 FW14B – better known as Red Five.
Also confirmed are the 1980 FW07B, 1987 FW11B, 1996 FW18 and 1997 FW19 – the very cars that carried Alan Jones, Nelson Piquet, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve to their respective World Championships.
McLaren will contribute title-winning cars driven by James Hunt, Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen and Sir Lewis Hamilton. Hunt will be represented by the M23 he used to beat Niki Lauda in the dramatic 1976 season, while Senna’s iconic 1988 MP4/4 will also be on display. Häkkinen’s 1999 MP4/14, which secured his second title against Michael Schumacher, will appear alongside the 2008 MP4-23 that carried Hamilton to his first World Championship in a nail-biting showdown with Felipe Massa.
Cars driven by McLaren’s other World Champions – Alain Prost, Emerson Fittipaldi and Niki Lauda – will be sourced from outside the team’s collection.
Red Bull Racing will showcase the RB18 – the car in which reigning World Champion Max Verstappen clinched his second title in dominant fashion in 2022. To date, the team has claimed seven other Drivers’ titles through Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel, along with six Constructors’ crowns.
At the other end of the timeline is the sport’s first-ever title-winner: Nino Farina’s 1950 Alfa Romeo 158. Other standouts include Juan Manuel Fangio’s 1957 Maserati 250F, Jim Clark’s 1963/65 Lotus 25, and the 2009 Brawn BGP001 that carried Jenson Button to one of the most improbable titles in F1 history.
‘This really is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime display,’ commented event director Nick Wigley. ‘Never before has such a visually stunning and complete collection of World Championship-winning cars been assembled in one place. It’s a fitting tribute to Formula 1’s 75th birthday – right here at Silverstone, where it all began.’
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