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The Inside Track
Jake Humphrey has one of the best jobs in the world. Flying around the world presenting Formula 1 to 6 million people is not a bad occupation. And there is plenty that the viewer doesn't get to see, quite a lot of it rather surprising too. Travelling around the globe in the F1 bubble, Jake brings you close to the action. With his unique access to the key characters in the sport he reveals a side of figures such as Jenson and Hamilton, Schumacher and Ecclestone not seen before. From techie heaven driving the Red Bull simulator to witnessing moments of great sporting triumph, Jake brings you behind the scenes in the paddock to behold the changing face of F1 and his life as a TV presenter permanently walking the tightrope of public humiliation.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 8, 2012
15 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 5, 2013
I was quite annoyed by this book as Humphreys had a brilliant position to write a thorough and insightful book instead pushed out a dull book that would leave most F1 fans struggling to get through it due to the lack of depth. It's a very shallow effort with no cohesive structure to the limited content in the book, almost as though it's a handful of post it notes stitched together. Overall very unhappy especially considering how he excels at tv presenting.
November 19, 2012
Very disappointed. I was expecting tales of presenting and broadcasting, however it's a basic general knowledge and history, with the occasional personal experience thrown in. Might be great if you're just getting into F1, but if you've followed it for a couple of seasons or more, you'll probably find it very disappointing.
December 10, 2023
Have known about this book for a while and so was curious to have a read it when I finally found a copy.
Part of the reason it's so intriguing is that unlike almost all other F1 books which tend to be written by former drivers, team principals or lifelong tragics, the author of this one was only involved in the sport for four years. He took over hosting duties for the BBC when F1 returned there in 2009 and by the end of 2012 he was done, off to football!
So going in I knew this was always going to be a somewhat blinkered view of the sport and more of a time capsule of what was happening then.
And to be fair that's exactly what it is, a little slice of that era when Vettel was dominant and Hamilton had yet to move over to Mercedes.
So as per the reasons I've already outlined, particularly Jake's lack of experience in the sport, this is not a great read. It's well written and what few anecdotes there are, are well told but most of those come from his on-air hosting buddies David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan. In reality Jake wasn't in the sport long enough to build relationships with the teams and crews or earn the respect of people such as Murray Walker before him or even the Sky Sports team of today.
In summation it's a super compressed snapshot of what F1 was between 09-12 with little else before. There is some insight here, but unless you're planted in a team or travelling with drivers every weekend, books of this nature really take 20 years to build up enough material and not feel as though they're written from the outside.
Part of the reason it's so intriguing is that unlike almost all other F1 books which tend to be written by former drivers, team principals or lifelong tragics, the author of this one was only involved in the sport for four years. He took over hosting duties for the BBC when F1 returned there in 2009 and by the end of 2012 he was done, off to football!
So going in I knew this was always going to be a somewhat blinkered view of the sport and more of a time capsule of what was happening then.
And to be fair that's exactly what it is, a little slice of that era when Vettel was dominant and Hamilton had yet to move over to Mercedes.
So as per the reasons I've already outlined, particularly Jake's lack of experience in the sport, this is not a great read. It's well written and what few anecdotes there are, are well told but most of those come from his on-air hosting buddies David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan. In reality Jake wasn't in the sport long enough to build relationships with the teams and crews or earn the respect of people such as Murray Walker before him or even the Sky Sports team of today.
In summation it's a super compressed snapshot of what F1 was between 09-12 with little else before. There is some insight here, but unless you're planted in a team or travelling with drivers every weekend, books of this nature really take 20 years to build up enough material and not feel as though they're written from the outside.
October 22, 2013
I'm a huge fan of F1 and had high hopes for this. Unfortunately it left me feeling a bit flat, as it seemed more at the interesting trivia level than the in depth analysis I was expecting. The writing style is also a bit basic, Jake is definitely a far better broadcaster than he is a writer.
May 4, 2016
Although informative and an easy, non taxing read, this book is, as others have said, very by the book. Nothing is too revealing and the chapters do jump around too much for my liking. For myself who knows a fair amount about F1 and follows it closely it was a bit disappointing, and rather short
January 1, 2013
Easy read with lots of snippets of information but I felt it needed more structure.
May 17, 2013
Interesting in parts, enough said
June 15, 2017
Humphrey was part of a great BBC team, along with Eddie Jordan, David Coulthard and obviously Martin Brundle. Top class coverage that pushed F1 coverage to new heights. (imagine if Murray hadn't retired!)
This book gives an inside view of what happens in the paddock - an area simply out of bounds to the mortals.
Humphrey is clearly a big F1 fan and demonstrates it here. Some good anecdotes involving the drivers and his fellow peers.
All F1 fans should read it. God, to have a job like this.....!
This book gives an inside view of what happens in the paddock - an area simply out of bounds to the mortals.
Humphrey is clearly a big F1 fan and demonstrates it here. Some good anecdotes involving the drivers and his fellow peers.
All F1 fans should read it. God, to have a job like this.....!
June 15, 2021
'There's nothing wrong with his car, except that it's on fire!', 'I'll stop the start-watch!' and 'Go, Go, Go!' were the kinds of gems Murray became famous for - not perfect and not afraid to make the odd mistake, but neither was he afraid to put his heart and soul into his commentating, and when the big stuff happening he always got right.
'And I need to stop now as I have a lump in my throat.'
'And I need to stop now as I have a lump in my throat.'
January 18, 2021
Such an incredibly dull read and leaves you feeling pretty disillusioned with the whole sport which doesn’t seem to be the intention
February 9, 2013
Jake Humphrey - together with DC and EJ, probably the finest presenting team for any televised sport in recent years, the camaraderie, chemistry and fun the 3 of them had made watching the bits between the cars moving so interesting, and the team has done much to push forward the standards! I'm not sure that, as fit as she is, Suzi Perry will bring the same childish fun that the 3 men did. For the very reason that I really like Jake, I'm going to give this book 2 reviews:
My Personal Review
I've been watching F1 avidly for the best part of 3 decades now, from my early teens in the early Eighties, and I've seen an awful lot of change in the sport. I remember all the scary crashes, the controversial incidents, the tragedies and the ecstasies, and now with internet spewing out so much detailed history of the cars, drivers, teams and seasons, I know more than most ordinary people should know about their sport. I was expecting this book, subtitled "Paddocks, Pitstops and Tales Of Life In The Fast Lane" to be Jake's tales, a book containing the story of his journey through F1 presenting, of the people he's met, the things he's seen and the secrets he's been privy to. Sadly not, although the book is liberally scattered with comments such as "I recall at INSERT NAME Grand Prix in 20xx...." they were given in context to the larger purpose of the book, which is to explain how F1 works, with a background history on how the current state of affairs came about. The thing is, as I've mentioned before, being a long-time fan I know most of it already. I know that David Purley was until recently the highest G force survivor (180ish G while crashing at Silverstone, but he's also known for being involved in probably the most harrowing F1 footage when he tried to help Roger Williamson escape from his crashed car at the Dutch GP (Williamson died of smoke inhalation, his body burned in his upturned car on live TV) for which he received the George Medal), I know about cigarette sponsorship......I'm not being mean to the book, but at times I found it was like being sat in a classroom and talked at by a primary school teacher, not condescendingly but in a simplistic a-child-could-understand kind of way. I'm disappointed that it didn't tell more of the tales of derring-do that Jake had from his 4 years of presenting, as I'm sure that he had better moments than listening to DC say how quickly they go around the corner upon which Jake is, invariably, running upon. The first chapter promised so much, but the rest of the book delivered very little that was new to me, and that for me was the biggest disappointment of the book. I actually stayed up late to finish the book just so I could move onto something more interesting!
A More Balanced Review
For any newcomers to F1, this is an excellent book that provides an insight to the current world of F1, while at the same time giving a back-history of how the formula came to be how it is today. The book is well laid out and gives a good overview of how F1 operates today, with a few anecdotes of his own thrown in to highlight various points of the book.
I have great respect for Jake for his work over the last 4 years (although I'm not happy he ditched F1 for the Olympics lol!) and I wish him all the best for his new job at BT, BBC F1 will surely miss him but, as with Murray's departure, we'll soon get used to the new shape of things. My affection for Jake has earned him an extra 2 stars for this review, and while I can see what he was trying to achieve, I think perhaps the title of the book is misleading, or perhaps he should have had a ghost writer or co-author to make the book a little more relevant to the more experienced fans.
My Personal Review
I've been watching F1 avidly for the best part of 3 decades now, from my early teens in the early Eighties, and I've seen an awful lot of change in the sport. I remember all the scary crashes, the controversial incidents, the tragedies and the ecstasies, and now with internet spewing out so much detailed history of the cars, drivers, teams and seasons, I know more than most ordinary people should know about their sport. I was expecting this book, subtitled "Paddocks, Pitstops and Tales Of Life In The Fast Lane" to be Jake's tales, a book containing the story of his journey through F1 presenting, of the people he's met, the things he's seen and the secrets he's been privy to. Sadly not, although the book is liberally scattered with comments such as "I recall at INSERT NAME Grand Prix in 20xx...." they were given in context to the larger purpose of the book, which is to explain how F1 works, with a background history on how the current state of affairs came about. The thing is, as I've mentioned before, being a long-time fan I know most of it already. I know that David Purley was until recently the highest G force survivor (180ish G while crashing at Silverstone, but he's also known for being involved in probably the most harrowing F1 footage when he tried to help Roger Williamson escape from his crashed car at the Dutch GP (Williamson died of smoke inhalation, his body burned in his upturned car on live TV) for which he received the George Medal), I know about cigarette sponsorship......I'm not being mean to the book, but at times I found it was like being sat in a classroom and talked at by a primary school teacher, not condescendingly but in a simplistic a-child-could-understand kind of way. I'm disappointed that it didn't tell more of the tales of derring-do that Jake had from his 4 years of presenting, as I'm sure that he had better moments than listening to DC say how quickly they go around the corner upon which Jake is, invariably, running upon. The first chapter promised so much, but the rest of the book delivered very little that was new to me, and that for me was the biggest disappointment of the book. I actually stayed up late to finish the book just so I could move onto something more interesting!
A More Balanced Review
For any newcomers to F1, this is an excellent book that provides an insight to the current world of F1, while at the same time giving a back-history of how the formula came to be how it is today. The book is well laid out and gives a good overview of how F1 operates today, with a few anecdotes of his own thrown in to highlight various points of the book.
I have great respect for Jake for his work over the last 4 years (although I'm not happy he ditched F1 for the Olympics lol!) and I wish him all the best for his new job at BT, BBC F1 will surely miss him but, as with Murray's departure, we'll soon get used to the new shape of things. My affection for Jake has earned him an extra 2 stars for this review, and while I can see what he was trying to achieve, I think perhaps the title of the book is misleading, or perhaps he should have had a ghost writer or co-author to make the book a little more relevant to the more experienced fans.
November 17, 2017
As a fellow F1 reporter who knew Jake in person, has studied his style in details, took his advises and considered as a role model in TV presenting, the book was a let down.
Too much random history facts, too few personal stories. It is like he was afraid of the public's reception to share his real feelings. This is understandable though, considering the attention he rightfully generated towards himself.
Wanted to hear more from the great personality that Jake is.
Too much random history facts, too few personal stories. It is like he was afraid of the public's reception to share his real feelings. This is understandable though, considering the attention he rightfully generated towards himself.
Wanted to hear more from the great personality that Jake is.
May 9, 2013
Maybe it's because I've new to the sport - but I really enjoyed the book.
That being said, it wasn't really what I was expecting. As many have already commented, I was expecting more behind the scenes tales about covering F1 and while there were several - that wasn't the main focus.
The Inside Track is more of Jake Humphrey's overview of the world and culture of F1 - again as an relative newcomer I enjoyed it, but somebody who's been following the sport closely for years might not be as thrilled by that.
Overall it was a very good read and I enjoyed it a lot more than Steve Matchett's Life in the Fast Lane.
That being said, it wasn't really what I was expecting. As many have already commented, I was expecting more behind the scenes tales about covering F1 and while there were several - that wasn't the main focus.
The Inside Track is more of Jake Humphrey's overview of the world and culture of F1 - again as an relative newcomer I enjoyed it, but somebody who's been following the sport closely for years might not be as thrilled by that.
Overall it was a very good read and I enjoyed it a lot more than Steve Matchett's Life in the Fast Lane.
January 19, 2013
A good, light, informative read. You can tell Humphrey wrote it himself, and as some have said, it is unstructured, and at times does feel a bit 'safe'. But Humphrey has done an excellent job at the BBC with the F1 coverage, and this book shows why - genuine, positive enthusiasm and love for the sport. There are insights to be had, although at times you wish there were a few more (the book comes alive with tales of personal interaction with drivers, and could do with more). But this is mainly a chance for a likeable down-to-earth bloke talk about a sport and a job he loves. Expect more, and you'll be disappointed. Sign up for that, however, and it's a must-read for F1 fans.
January 14, 2016
A very enjoyable read. This is not a sequential look at Jake's time in F1 but rather an overview of the important characteristics of the sport. Thus there's chapters on car development, finance, safety, as well as team spirit. And throughout Jake shares memories of key moments.
Undoubtably Jake's natural favouritism can be seen at times, and the wide scope of topics leads to a lack of focus and direction, but this is none-the-less a great book for presenting all aspects of the sport. Other books may detail the history of F1 or the careers of the drivers but this one shows why we love the sport.
Undoubtably Jake's natural favouritism can be seen at times, and the wide scope of topics leads to a lack of focus and direction, but this is none-the-less a great book for presenting all aspects of the sport. Other books may detail the history of F1 or the careers of the drivers but this one shows why we love the sport.
November 28, 2012
At first I was a bit disappointed with the book as I felt it featured too much F1 trivia that I already knew in great detail but as the book progressed there are little anecdotes that Jake shares that made me feel even more emotional about his departure from BBCF1. His emotive take on the sport is one that mirrors how a lot of Formula 1 fans feel and the book brings home just how much he will be missed in the 2013 season.
January 9, 2013
Well, as a huge F1 fan (and thanks to the lovely Jules for this as my Christmas present)this is just a book you can't put down. Jake has gone through a lot as a presenter of the F1 coverage at the BBC such as the equipment failing, putting up with DC and EJ.
But this book tells a story behind the sport that you don't hear about very often.
But this book tells a story behind the sport that you don't hear about very often.
March 10, 2013
Fun and full of good anecdotes, but redefines "rambling". I watched Jake, etc. on BBC and so was already familiar with most of his stories, and I still had to re-read some sections to figure out what he was talking about. Still, it will be fun to read it again a few years from now when everything has moved on and reminisce.
January 12, 2013
An enjoyable read from an F1 presenter who will be much missed.
Read
February 7, 2013A good read for someone like me who is just an armchair watcher of F1 but for more serious fans will probably not learn anythingthey do not already know.
March 28, 2013
brilliant read
May 5, 2013
OK maybe for the casual enthusiast, but very lightweight and with a number of silly errors on matters on fact.
Not one that I'll keep; it can go on the next charity shop run.
Not one that I'll keep; it can go on the next charity shop run.
August 10, 2013
A good read - amusing at times & really interesting for a F1 fan
December 23, 2013
A behind the scenes look on Formula 1 from a commentator's perspective, i found it interesting made me want to read more.. a must for any Formula 1 fan.
Read
January 12, 2017Learnt things and didn't expect to
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews