F1 is now the fastest growing sport in the world; the full story of its unbelievable rise is a riveting saga only hinted at by the likes of Drive to Survive. In this book - the first, definitive account of how F1 came to achieve total global fandom - Wall Street Journal reporters Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg take us inside a world full of racing obsessives, glamorous settings, petrolheads, engineering geniuses, dashing racers and bitter rivalries.
The story of F1's world dominance is one of near-constant transformation and experimentation. This is a sport where the only way to win championships is to land a series of technical moon shots - and then do it all over again. With fast cars, big money, beautiful people, and glamorous locations from Monaco to Melbourne, The Formula tells the full, epic story of the sport. Starting in 1950s Britain, where six years of wartime engineering laid the foundations for a new type of motorcar racing; to the first global star partnership of Senna and Ecclestone; Spygate; Crashgate and its transition into an entertainment juggernaut. Bringing unique insight and access to F1's most storied teams and personalities - from Ferrari to Lewis Hamilton to Christian Horner and Daniel Ricciardo -The Formula offers a riveting portrait of the drivers, corporations, cars, rivalries, and audacious gambles that have shaped the sport for half a century.
The end result is a high-octane history of how modern F1 racing came to be - the first book to tell the story of the outrageous successes and spectacular crashes that led F1 to this extraordinary yet precarious moment. More than just a sports story, it is the tale of a commercial empire, one built in the 20th century, rendered almost obsolete in the early 21st, and re-emerged world-dominant today; a disrupter that claimed its place in the crowded sports marketplace through cash, personality, and a new understanding of what a sport needs to be in the age of wall-to-wall entertainment.
What did I think?
As a longstanding fan of F1 I was very excited to read The Formula by Josuhua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a must-read for every fan of F1 that delves behind the scenes at the business-end of F1 and explains how its star has continued to rise over the years.
Pretty much everything is covered in this fabulous book: THAT race in Abu Dhabi 2021, the McLaren Ferrari spygate controversy, Bruno Senna's calculated crash that put his teammate on the podium and a glimpse into the running of the sport. I was never a fan of Bernie Ecclestone but I have to admire him for everything he did to get F1 on our TV and he epitomises our local phrase: 'shy bairns get nowt' and Bernie is anything but shy!
Reading this book is like revealing the inner workings of your favourite watch that you have been wearing for years; I thought I knew it well as I have been a fan of the sport for over 30 years but there was so much I didn't know. I really enjoyed reading about the business side of F1 and as a wise man (Sir Lewis Hamilton, no less) once said "cash is king".
One minor niggle I have is that Jules Bianchi is referred to as 'a driver' when referring to his fatal crash in 2014 that resulted in the introduction of the driver halo and I think he deserves to be named and remembered. Other than that though, I don't think there was a word out of place and a lot of ground is covered in this concise yet comprehensive book.
Well written, entertaining and informative, The Formula is an outstanding book that reminded me of the highs and lows over the years and gave me an unexpectedly eye-opening insight into F1. A highly recommend read and one not to be missed for F1 fans.
I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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About the authors:
Joshua Robinson is the European sports correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, and has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post and Sports Illustrated.
Jonathan Clegg is an editor for The Wall Street Journal, his work has also appeared in the Daily Telegraph, the Independent, and FourFourTwo magazine.
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