BOOK REVIEW: FORMULA ONE, ALL THE RACES (1950-2011)

FORMULA ONE, ALL THE RACES (1950-2011)

By Roger Smith

Published by: HAYNES PUBLISHING

ISBN: 978 0 85733 309 4

Price: $25.00

// Review

Filling 600 pages of paperback book cannot be anything other than a labor of love. For author, Roger Smith, Formula 1: All The Races is based on what he calls his ‘race pods’, each of which outlines a race, key details of its qualifying, along with appropriate statistics, facts and the folklore surrounding the events. Even the most ardent of GP fans will find at least one snippet not revealed by other sources, so comprehensive is the coverage.

Yet, it is also incredibly compact, both in terms of layout and the sheer neatness of each ‘pod’ of information, which fortunately makes the book a whole lot easier to digest than its enormity might suggest. However, when you analyze the contents, which cover no less than the past 62 years of premier league motor racing, 858 races (up to the end of 2011), 192 winning cars, 102 victorious drivers and 32 World Champions, accompanied by first-class photography, then you start to appreciate the inspirational quality of the book.

Each season is introduced concisely and there are also complete tables for both Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship points. Smith also takes the opportunity to nominate his ‘Top 100 Races’, a luxury that I feel is thoroughly deserved, in light of his three years’ worth of dedication to creating this tome. The colourful drawings of each of the winning race cars have been created by Alain Baudouin and they are in addition to the excellent period photography. Appendix 1 is a useful list of the 301 races termed as ‘Non-Championship’, which used to form such an important element of every F1 season.

Easy to read, Formula 1: All The Races is not merely a bedside or coffee-table book but is a handy guide, worth referring to with every forthcoming race in the remaining calendar and for some time into the future. A great many of the names will be familiar, even if you may have forgotten the whys and wherefores of the races you might wish to refer to. You can acquire copies through our Amazon Affiliate Account and I strongly recommend it.