Formula One: The Champions & The Pinnacle 2 Book Set

Bask in Formula One glory with this 75th Anniversary edition of The Champions, featuring exhilarating photography and expert commentary.

Since the Grand Prix’s start in 1950, just 34 men have achieved the accolade of F1 World Champion. For the first time, legendary F1 commentator Maurice Hamilton and award-winning photographers Bernard and Paul-Henri Cahier bring the heroes of this iconic sport together, in a stunning photographic portrayal of the poise, skill and winning mindset that separates the fast from the furious, the elite from the talented.

Formula One and its champions are brought to life with:

• An exquisitely written profile of each of the 34 F1 World Champions, with key details from the driver’s life and F1 career
• Stunning photography of the drivers and their cars, both on and off the track
• Historic interviews with the sport’s lost heroes, including James Hunt and Ayrton Senna
• Exclusive quotes from icons such as Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg
• A brand new foreword by Damon Hill, former F1 World Champion.

Debate has raged over which driver is the best of the best. It is impossible to say. But that will not deter energetic and informed discussion, usually predicated on a personal preference swayed by affection. Each of these champions will have experienced and delivered pulse-raising performances many times over.
 
Fully revised and updated for the 75th Anniversary and with a new foreword by F1 legend Damon Hill, with this handsome homage to the most ferocious of sports and the incredible sportsmen who drive at the edge in pursuit of greatness, it is time to choose your favourite F1 Champion.

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.