Goodwood Festival of Speed 2017 to celebrate Bernie Ecclestone

It will be the first time that the Festival's 'Central Feature' has celebrated an individual rather than a marque.

Ecclestone will attend the Festival of Speed on June 30-July 2 along with a number of world champions, team owners, engineers, designers and mechanics who have featured in his career.

The Central Feature of the event, a towering sculpture outside Goodwood House, will display cars from the five different chapters of his life, as driver, manager, team owner, impresario and finally as a legend of motorsport.

"This is not so much a tribute, but rather a Goodwood celebration of a racer who has had such a huge influence on the sport we all love," said event founder Lord March.

"It's wonderful that Bernie has agreed to spend the weekend at the Festival with many of the great names with whom he worked during a life dedicated to racing.

"I'm also delighted that he will bring with him some great historic grand prix cars from his incredible collection."

Ecclestone's first involvement in motorsport was as a driver, in 500cc Coopers during the late-1940s and early '50s, culminating in an entry for the Monaco Grand Prix in a Connaught.

He then turned his hand to management, guiding the careers of Stuart Lewis-Evans and Jochen Rindt before moving into team ownership when he purchased the Brabham F1 team at the end of 1971.

In 1974, at the request of other team owners, he took control of the F1 Constructors' Association and guided F1 to become the most watched sport in the world.

The 2016 world championship-winning Mercedes W07 will bring the story of his time in F1 right up to date.

Significant names from his life will be at Goodwood, alongside the man himself, on Sunday July 2 when there will be a key moment in front of Goodwood House at 3pm.