Lotus to join show of F1 championship winning cars

Mario Andretti's title-winning JPS Lotus 79 from 1978 will join the display of world championship winning cars

A "legendary" Formula 1 team will showcase some of its former world championship winning race cars at a motorsport festival, organisers said.

The Silverstone Festival in Northamptonshire, due to be held over the August bank holiday weekend, has announced four cars from the former Norfolk-based Team Lotus will be part of display featuring F1 cars raced by all 34 of the sport's world champions.

The showcase is part of a special celebration to mark the 75th anniversary of the Formula 1 World Championship.

Nick Wigley, the event's director, said the display was an "ambitious challenge that no one has ever attempted before".

He said: "Now, the star-studded collection is not only nearly complete, but it also features an incredible number of title-winning cars.

McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, and Williams have already confirmed their support for the showcase, contributing title-winning cars driven by illustrious champions including Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Fernando Alonso, Sir Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

Jim Clark drove the Lotus 25/R4 to all seven of his victories in 1963, including the British Grand Prix at Silverstone

Team Lotus was founded by Colin Chapman and recorded its first F1 entry in 1958.

Based at Hethel, near Norwich, the team counted world champions Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Mario Andretti among its drivers.

British driver Clark was intrinsically linked with Team Lotus in its formative years, winning titles in 1963 and 1965 and the "iconic" Lotus 25/R4 in which he won his first crown will join the display, alongside those driven by Rindt, Fittipaldi and Andretti.

The festival will also feature performances from Natasha Bedingfield and Craig David presents TS5.

The Silverstone Festival runs from 22-24 August.