Formula One: The Champions: 70 years of legendary F1 drivers
Since the first Formula One World Championship was contested in 1950, only 34 men have ever claimed its ultimate prize. That is a startlingly small number, and this large-format, 240-page volume takes a moment to let that fact breathe before doing justice to each and every one of them. Veteran F1 commentator Maurice Hamilton writes a portrait of each champion, drawing on a career spent trackside to give real texture and authority to his words. The photography, shot by Bernard and Paul-Henri Cahier across decades of the sport, is frequently extraordinary. You'll find drivers caught in unguarded moments away from the circuit as well as the heat and blur of race day, and the contrast between the two makes for compelling viewing throughout. What really lifts the book above a straightforward retrospective is its archival depth. Historic interviews with James Hunt and Ayrton Senna sit alongside freshly gathered quotes from Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and Nico Rosberg, giving the whole thing a sense of conversation across generations. Bernie Ecclestone contributes a foreword that sets the competitive tone nicely. The old argument about who was truly the greatest driver will, of course, never be settled. Hamilton wisely sidesteps the trap of declaring a winner, acknowledging that personal loyalty and nostalgia shape every fan's answer differently. What the book offers instead is the raw material for a very good argument indeed. For anyone with a genuine love of the sport, this is a handsome, absorbing package and a worthy tribute to the men who drove at the absolute limit in pursuit of a title that so very few ever won.
- Author: Maurice Hamilton
- Publisher: Ivy Press
- Genre: Photography
- ISBN: 978-1781319475
- Pages: 240 pages