Formula One: The Champions

70 years of legendary F1 drivers

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on Waterstones.com
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 3 Mar 2020 | Archive Date 12 Feb 2020

Talking about this book? Use #FormulaOneTheChampions #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

Bask in Formula One glory with this 240-page, large-format tribute to all 34 F1 World Champions, featuring exhilarating photography and expert commentary.

Since the Grand Prix’s start in 1950, just 34 men have achieved the accolade of F1 World Champion. For the first time, legendary F1 commentator Maurice Hamilton and award-winning photographers Bernard and Paul-Henri Cahier bring the heroes of this iconic sport together, in a stunning photographic portrayal of the poise, skill and winning mindset that separates the fast from the furious, the elite from the talented.

Formula One and its champions are brought to life with:
  • An exquisitely written profile of each of the 34 F1 World Champions, with key details from the driver’s life and F1 career
  • Stunning photography of the drivers and their cars, both on and off the track
  • Historic interviews with the sport’s lost heroes, including James Hunt and Ayrton Senna
  • Exclusive quotes from icons such as Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg
  • A foreword by Bernie Ecclestone, former chief executive of the Formula One Group
Debate has raged over which driver is the best of the best. It is impossible to say. But that will not deter energetic and informed discussion, usually predicated on a personal preference swayed by affection. Each of these champions will have experienced and delivered pulse-raising performances many times over.
 
With this handsome homage to the most ferocious of sports and the incredible sportsmen who drive at the edge in pursuit of greatness, it is time to choose your favorite F1 Champion.
Bask in Formula One glory with this 240-page, large-format tribute to all 34 F1 World Champions, featuring exhilarating photography and expert commentary.

Since the Grand Prix’s start in 1950, just...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781781319468
PRICE US$45.00 (USD)
PAGES 240

Average rating from 5 members


Featured Reviews

What a good book this was to read about F1 champions through the years. I wouldn't call myself an ardent F1 fan but I enjoy following from a distance this sport, especially to see who does become F1 champion of the year. Sadly reading this book, it reminds you that so many died for a sport and well done to the likes of Jackie Stewart who fought to get safety improved. What I also enjoyed in this book was the excellent use of photographs, helped to really capture each champion.

Was this review helpful?

Formula One is generally thought of as the pinnacle of motorsport and it follows that those who have become world champion have achieved the very highest accolade the sport has to offer. Since it was first introduced, in 1950, the races that comprise the championship have spanned the globe. There have been 33 champions from 14 different nations. To win the overall prize it’s necessary to accrue points from the various races, with the driver holding most points at the end of the season being crowned the winner.

This gorgeous book celebrates the various champions with a section on each. Of course there are a number of drivers who have achieved this feat more than once, the legends of the sport such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and the current champion Lewis Hamilton, but for many it was a once only achievement. Some of the stories told here are extraordinary but there is sadness too, it’s a dangerous sport and when twice world champion Alberto Ascari drove his car into the harbour during the Monaco Grand Prix, in 1955, it was amazing that he survived the incident. Tragically, he was to be killed in his race car just four days later.

I’ve been a follower of this sport for many years and can recall those featured here from Scotsman Jackie Stewart onwards. My personal favourites include British drivers James Hunt, Nigel Mansell and of course Lewis Hamilton. My son is an avid fan and we plan to spend three days at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone later this year. This book is a visual feast for followers of Formula One, with the wonderful photographs supported by brief but informative text. A superb item for anyone who is captured by this exciting and dramatic sport.

Was this review helpful?

An in depth record of all the F1 world champions packed with information and crammed with action photographs capturing personality and the cars they drove. 70 years is a hard span to bridge and this publication does so with ease and great skill.
There is no attempt to assess the best of the best. Rather it shows talent in its various forms that when driver and car were in harness winning was still i undermined by a number of factors. Reliability, politics, injury, team orders and support crews.
I saw my first foreign Grand Prix at Zandvoort in 1975 and followed the sport closely for a while reading Autosport weekly. I also got their equivalent of an annual each year reflecting on the past season.
With motor racing journalism the hardest part seems to me to be brief while still being relevant and clear. This is what marked out this book and the precise writing style that devoted similar column inches to each driver regardless of multiple championships or one year successes.
It was a good reminder of all the stars who have achieved the ultimate accolade over long and far travelled circuits that make up the racing calendar.
In my time I was aware of the dangers when things go wrong and remember the loss of drivers regardless of skill, experience and car they drove. It was good to be reminded of Jackie Stewart’s stand to improve basic safety and the medical teams, stewards and race marshals we take for granted. It still came as a shock to see the deaths of drivers and spectators in the earlier years of this sport.
A better summary of these great champions you be hard to find. Certainly it is worth it for the photographs alone. With pointers where to go for more in depth reading and feed your interest.
I loved the humanity of the pen portraits which highlighted dignity and respect in the sport. The best example perhaps the driver who remembered a former mechanic in their time of need.

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: