Bernie Ecclestone is this year's Goodwood theme

It’s less than two weeks until the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and yet the central marque of the show has just been announced.

Following in the footsteps of Lotus, Porsche, Mercedes, Mazda and BMW is… Bernie Ecclestone. Yep. For the first time, the Festival’s central theme is a person, not a maker of cars.

And if you’re wondering what that means for the sculpture in front of Goodwood House, then worry not; it will still be adorned with cars. Five of them, in fact, to represent the five stages of Bernie’s career that Goodwood has identified: 'racer', 'manager', 'team owner', 'impresario' and 'legend'.

Among the cars selected is the Ferrari F2001 of Michael Schumacher, the car he won his fourth world championship (and second for Ferrari) in.

Goodwood describes Bernie as “a man who, through good times and bad, has been an overwhelming power for good in motorsport.”

Over to Lord March, the founder of the Festival of Speed: "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.

"It’s wonderful that Bernie has agreed to spend the weekend at the Festival with many of the great names with whom he has 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."

Top Gear’s big Bernie Ecclestone interview is here