More essential & cheap summer reads for F1 fans

Posted on

| Written by

After last week’s five must-read F1 summer paperbacks went down so well I thought I’d pick out another five.

Once again these are all titles I’ve read and can wholeheartedly recommend – and you can pick them up for pennies from our affiliate partner.

“James Hunt: The Biography” (Gerald Donaldson)

A must-read book for Kimi Raikkonen fans as well as anyone within an interest in the sport’s past champions.

Raikkonen gave a revealing interview last week in which he explained why he’s taken to entering events under the name of 1976 champion James Hunt. Hunt was renowned for applying as much energy to enjoining himself outside the cockpit as he did to his job behind the wheel.

Read the full review of “James Hunt: The Biography”

“Flat Out, Flat Broke, Formula One the hard way” (Perry McCarthy)

If you’re after an F1 book with a sense of humour, then give this a try. Perry McCarthy suffered a fair few knocks on his way to F1, and suffered even more when he finally got their with the infamously hopeless Andrea Moda team.

Still he lived to tell the tale (just) and went on to become a successful sports car racer and Top Gear’s original Stig. A nice, light-hearted summer read.

Read the full review of “Flat Out, Flat Broke, Formula One the hard way”

“The Last Road Race” (Richard Williams, 2004)

It’s unusual to find a book dedicated to a single race, but the 1957 Grand Prix on the road course at Pescara in Italy was fascinating for many reasons. It was the last race to be held on one of the old monster road circuits that wound its way from village to village.

Williams vividly re-creates the mood of the time, the spirit of camaraderie between the drivers (Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso might have to look that word up) and the sheer danger of F1 racing fifty years ago. It’s a brief read – perfect beach fodder – but a highly entertaining one.

Read the full review of “The Last Road Race”

“Eddie Jordan: The biography” (Timothy Collings)

Love him or loathe him, Eddie Jordan made waves during his time in F1 and this biography by Timothy Collings is a better read than Jordan’s recent autobiography.

Read the full review of “Eddie Jordan: The biography”

“Life at the Limit” – Sid Watkins

If you prefer your summer reading with a bit more action then give this a try – the first of Sid Watkins’ recollections of his life as the first man on the scene at F1’s biggest crashes.

It is understandably depressing in parts but Watkins maintains a sense of humour as, I suppose you have to when you’ve done his kind of work for so long. If you’re already read this and fancy something similar Dr Stephen Olvey’s book Rapid Response documents his time doing the same work in the Indy Car series and is in many ways a better read.

Read the full review of “Life at the Limit”

Apologies to F1 Fanatic readers outside of Britain who may not be able to obtain these titles for the same prices as over here. They’re still worth tracking down, though.

Related links

Tags: / / / /

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

2 comments on “More essential & cheap summer reads for F1 fans”

  1. As far as I know, Amazon UK will deliver to the US, although you would probably have to pay more for shipping. You’ll have a fight with the browser, however, as it will know where you live and keep trying to send you to the “correct” site for your domicile. Be firm with it and insist, is my advice. ;)

  2. I’ve read and enjoyed all of the books on there except for “The Last Road Race” (which I’ve never seen before – the beauty of these “Summer reads” sections”). In fact, I have well-read copies of the James Hunt, Eddie Jordan and Perry McCarthy books at home.

Comments are closed.