Formula 1 celebrates its 70th
birthday thisyear, providing a nice
hookfor specialistbook publishers.
LongtimeGPRacingcontributor
MauriceHamilton’slatest work
focuses on the 33 mento have
claimedtheworld championship
in those 70 years. This is a lavishly
produced large-format hardbackin
whichHamilton’s finely turnedprose
is garlanded with delightful archivephotographyby Bernardand Paul-
Henri Cahier.
While there’s somestyleoverlap
betweenthe Cahiers, there remains
a nice visual contrast between
Bernard’sreportageapproach
andPaul-Henri’s more artylook.
There’smuch to enjoy, too, in the
words,as Hamiltonseeksto bring
the personality ofchampionsto life
rather thanpresentinga chronology
of events andachievements,or
gettingbogged down in details. If you
wantedto know what coloursocks
Farinawas wearingat the
1950 BritishGP, youmay
needto look elsewhere.
Many ofthe
biographiesfeature the
author’sown interviews
withthe subjects,and
theforeword is provided
by formerF1 ‘ringmaster’
BernieEcclestone.FORMULA 1:THE CHAMPIONS
AuthorMaurice Hamilton
Price£35
quartoknows.comThe long-awaited second series
of this unfettered fly-on-the-wall
documentary‘dropped’ on Netflix
at the end ofFebruary. Series one
turnedHaas teamboss Guenther
Steiner into a star as the cameras
captured hisexpletive-laden
reactionsto the various misfortunes
afflictinghis cars and drivers.Fans
willbe pleasedto learn that he is on
similarly unfilteredform in this latest
run as he contemplates not only the
wild swings in performanceof the
truculent VF.19 chassis, but also the
tendency ofKevin Magnussen and
Romain Grosjeanto occupy the same
stretch of asphaltat the same time.
Steiner isn’t the onlyteam principal
to be caught fulminating. Having
refusedto participate in season 1,
bothFerrari and Mercedes opened
their garage doorsto Netflix this
timearound.Serendipitously, itwasFORMULA 1:DRIVETOSURVIVE 2
PriceFrom 5.99/month
netflix.comGP RACING MARCH 2020 137
Mercedes’ turnto hostthe cameras
during theGerman GP weekend when
it had a singularlyuncharacteristic
operationalmeltdown – while in full
retrocostumefor its “125Years of
Motorsport” celebrations.Elsewhere it’s theusual fare of
privileged behind-the-scenes access
tightly intercutwithactionfootage
and paddock scenes.Look closely
and you might see some of theGP
Racingteam hard atwork...As with the first series, the sound
is very upfront andbest appreciated
on a home cinemasetup,where the
crunch of carbonfibre during shunts- andeven the chirrup oftyresover
rumblestrips – packs a punch.
Formula 1 celebrates its 70th
birthday thisyear, providing a nice
hookfor specialistbook publishers.
LongtimeGPRacingcontributor
MauriceHamilton’slatest work
focuses on the 33 mento have
claimedtheworld championship
in those 70 years. This is a lavishly
produced large-format hardbackin
whichHamilton’s finely turnedprose
is garlanded with delightful archivephotographyby Bernardand Paul-
Henri Cahier.
While there’s somestyleoverlap
betweenthe Cahiers, there remains
a nice visual contrast between
Bernard’sreportageapproach
andPaul-Henri’s more artylook.
There’smuch to enjoy, too, in the
words,as Hamiltonseeksto bring
the personality ofchampionsto life
rather thanpresentinga chronology
of events andachievements,or
gettingbogged down in details. If you
wantedto know what coloursocks
Farinawas wearingat the
1950 BritishGP, youmay
needto look elsewhere.
Many ofthe
biographiesfeature the
author’sown interviews
withthe subjects,and
theforeword is provided
by formerF1 ‘ringmaster’
BernieEcclestone.FORMULA 1:THE CHAMPIONS
AuthorMaurice Hamilton
Price£35
quartoknows.comThe long-awaited second series
of this unfettered fly-on-the-wall
documentary‘dropped’ on Netflix
at the end ofFebruary. Series one
turnedHaas teamboss Guenther
Steiner into a star as the cameras
captured hisexpletive-laden
reactionsto the various misfortunes
afflictinghis cars and drivers.Fans
willbe pleasedto learn that he is on
similarly unfilteredform in this latest
run as he contemplates not only the
wild swings in performanceof the
truculent VF.19 chassis, but also the
tendency ofKevin Magnussen and
Romain Grosjeanto occupy the same
stretch of asphaltat the same time.
Steiner isn’t the onlyteam principal
to be caught fulminating. Having
refusedto participate in season 1,
bothFerrari and Mercedes opened
their garage doorsto Netflix this
timearound.Serendipitously, itwas
FORMULA 1:DRIVETOSURVIVE 2
PriceFrom 5.99/month
netflix.comGP RACING MARCH 2020 137
Mercedes’ turnto hostthe cameras
during theGerman GP weekend when
it had a singularlyuncharacteristic
operationalmeltdown – while in full
retrocostumefor its “125Years of
Motorsport” celebrations.Elsewhere it’s theusual fare of
privileged behind-the-scenes access
tightly intercutwithactionfootage
and paddock scenes.Look closely
and you might see some of theGP
Racingteam hard atwork...As with the first series, the sound
is very upfront andbest appreciated
on a home cinemasetup,where the
crunch of carbonfibre during shunts- andeven the chirrup oftyresover
rumblestrips – packs a punch.