Lewis Hamilton with fans at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Lewis Hamilton with fans at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Those attending the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK this summer will be able to get up close and personal with a handful of top Formula 1 drivers, both past and present.

The lineup will include the likes of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton from McLaren as well as current world champion Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull Racing teammate Mark Webber.

The McLaren duo, in particular, are FOS regulars and know virtually every inch of the demanding 1.16-mile Goodwood hillclimb, so we should see some impressive times when they take to the road in last year’s MP4-26 F1 car and the new MP4-12C supercar.

Lotus is the featured marque of this year’s event and should be unveiling its “Central Feature” in the coming weeks. Other automakers planning to attend include Toyota, which will be bringing its new TS030 Hybrid Le Mans prototype and a Lexus LFA race car, as well as Chevrolet and Mercedes-Benz, both of which will be celebrating their past achievements.

The 2012 Goodwood FOS kicks off on June 28 and should prove just as exciting as previous years for any performance car fan.