The 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed has come and gone. Although we’ve largely focused on street-legal vehicles like the new M2 CS, it would be remiss not to mention the Formula 1 machines. Naturally, our emphasis is on those powered by BMW engines, but we’ve also included a few shots of F1 cars from other brands. Among them, the highly unusual six-wheeled Tyrrell P34 with a Ford-Cosworth engine.
The Arrows A8 should look familiar if you’re well-versed in BMW-powered F1 cars. It competed in the 1985 and 1986 seasons, albeit without notable success. Its best result was a second-place finish at the 1985 San Marino Grand Prix. At the heart of the car, designed by Dave Wass, was BMW’s M12/M13, a turbocharged 1.5-liter engine also used by Brabham and Benetton during the 1980s.
Speaking of Brabham, the BT52 pictured below raced in the 1983 season. Designed by none other than Gordon Murray, the F1 machine was driven by Nelson Piquet and Riccardo Patrese. Piquet secured the title that year, finishing ahead of Renault’s Alain Prost and Ferrari’s René Arnoux, while Patrese placed ninth. Brabham BMW ended the season third in the constructors’ championship.
The M12/13 was rendered obsolete in 1989 when Formula 1 banned turbocharged engines. However, BMW returned 11 years later with the V10-powered Williams FW22 for the 2000 season. The 3.0-liter E41/4 was replaced the following year by the P80 series, which remained in use until 2005. From 2006 until BMW’s exit from F1 in 2009, the BMW Sauber cars ran a smaller V8, also part of the P80 series.
As for another F1 return, that’s unlikely in the near future. However, M boss Frank van Meel told us at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este that BMW isn’t ignoring the sport: “We’re not ignoring Formula 1. We’re just not participating. That’s on purpose.”
Why? The BMW M CEO explained that F1 offers limited tech transfer to road cars, which is why the motorsport division focuses on endurance racing instead, competing in WEC and IMSA with the M Hybrid V8.
Photos: Hardy Mutschler
