Racing Driver

McLaren P1 and Sergio Perez

Each year, one hundred and fifty thousand petrolheads flock to the mecca of motorsport, Goodwood's Festival of Speed. Held over three days, the show (unlike any other) lets fans get up close and personal with iconic cars and celebrities as they hurtle up Lord March's 1.16 mile driveway.

This year saw the FoS celebrate it's 20th Anniversary, whilst McLaren looked back over 50 years of remarkable achievements. From one legendary icon, to McLaren's next? Sergio Perez climbs out of Ayrton Senna's MP4-4 and into the eagerly awaited McLaren P1 hypercar, making it the car's first public debut. 

McLaren P1 Sergio Perez Checo F1 Formula One Racing Driver Celebrity Portrait Goodwood Festival of Speed Blog

Behind closed doors and with exclusive access, I'm given three minutes to shoot portraits of Checo. Gates unlocked, the car would then weave its way through a sea of spectators before catapulting CAR Magazine's Mark Walton up the hill with McLaren's test driver, Chris Goodwin.

McLaren P1 Sergio Perez F1 Formula One Driver Hypercar Goodwood Festival Of Speed Amethyst Black

Despite covering 373 miles in two days (most of which before dawn) and spending two full days at the show for just three minutes with famed Formula One driver Sergio Perez, it will remain a career highlight.

Sergio Perez Checo McLaren F1 Driver Formula One Racing Driver Celebrity Portrait

The P1 up close is breath-taking, especially in "Amethyst Black" with more exposed carbon fibre than you can shake a stick at.

A mass of intricate details, numerous tell-tale signs show that McLaren's F1 background has engineered the P1 to be a race car for the road. From it's indented nose that channels clean air into the roof-scoop, to the lightweight titanium-alloy wire mesh that surrounds the exhaust. Awesome! To read about Mark's experience in the P1 and see further images, check out October's issue of CAR Magazine.