Formula 1 75 Years & The Pinnacle 2 Book Set

Celebrate 75 years of Formula 1 racing, from 1950 through the modern era, with this riveting pictorial history.

There is Formula 1, and then there are all other forms of motorsport. F1 is what every competition driver aspires to, whether they admit it or not. Top drivers, top teams, top racing cars, top tracks. It is the pinnacle of motor racing.

Formula 1 marks its 75th anniversary in 2025. Established as the top motorsport category in Europe in 1950, its grand-prix roots go back to the earliest days of the automobile. There was the first car, then there was the second car. The racing commenced shortly thereafter.

Written by top F1 journalists Stuart Codling and James Roberts, Formula 1 75 Years takes you on a thrilling ride through it all with: 

• A full history of the teams and their cars, from the return of pre-war greats like Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, and Lancia to the rise of new specialists like Ferrari, Lotus, and Cooper up through today’s top competitors like Red Bull, Williams, and McLaren
• Legendary drivers, including Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and more
• Sidebars highlighting key events, behind-the-scenes machinations, legendary cars, and every champion
• Stunning historic and contemporary photography, with image selection and captions by top automotive photographer James Mann

This engaging and beautifully designed overview of the world’s greatest motorsport is a must-have for every fan’s collection.

As Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc battle it out head-to-head in the most hotly contested championship in years, this in-depth book, with a foreword from Haas team principal Guenther Steiner, tells the story of how the sport evolved into the exhilarating high octane spectacle it is today.

The new rules introduced in 2022 signal the greatest change to F1 in a generation, cracking the field wide open and seeing some of the most compelling and competitive races in the last 25 years.

Technical changes aimed at levelling the playing field for the teams combined with the sport’s tightening budget cap have made the races closer than ever. There will be more sprint races — trialled in 2021 — and greater fan interest driven by Netflix’s hugely successful ‘Drive to Survive’ series.

So, how did we get here? How did F1 become the acknowledged ‘Pinnacle of Motorsport’? Simon Arron and Tony Dodgins have identified the 100 most significant changes to the series since its inception in 1950. Formula One is unrecognizable from its debut season, where drivers raced around on old bomber training aerodrome in Northamptonshire with oil drums to mark the corners and straw bales the only concession to safety.

New fans will welcome a complete and highly illustrated guide to the history of F1, while older fans will be able to compare their own views of what were the pivotal moments of change, in a book written by experienced motoring writers with two lifetimes worth of knowledge of the sport.

The book will link technical progress with the personalities involved, indeed many of the swiftest changes have come about as a result of accidents or tragedies — the death of Roland Ratzenberger at Imola in 1994, the same weekend as Ayrton Senna, could have been avoided by the HANS safety device. The introduction of the halo saved Romain Grosjean’s life in Bahrain last year, but only came about because of the tragic accident that claimed Jules Bianchi in Japan.

Along with changes to circuits and the technology of the cars, this book highlights the commercial changes and the controversies that threatened to split the sport apart — such as the threat of breakaway series proposed at various times by teams.

A must-read for completists or for those new to the sport, F1: The Pinnacle is a fascinating insight into one of the most exciting and dangerous sports in the world.