Formula One: The Legends: Cult drivers and their legacies

by Tony Dodgins

Discover Formula One’s most iconic drivers with stunning photography, insight from celebrated F1 journalist Tony Dodgins and a foreword by grand prix living legend.

At the heart of Formula One lies the triumphs and tragedies of the sport's greatest stars. The drama, personality and thrill of the sport is borne of these cult drivers  where only the fastest and bravest survive.

In Formula The Legends , Dodgins profiles 32 of  F1’s iconic drivers from the 1950s to the present day . As well as examining the racers of the past, such as Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost and Aryton Senna, the text will profile living legends such as Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and legend-in-the-making Max Verstappen. Uniquely, this book will also feature stars of the sport who tragically died or were terribly injured  before they could realise their true potential, but nevertheless left a lasting legacy.

Decade by decide since the inception of the championship,  Formula The Legends will profile the following legends of  
Ascari, Fangio, Moss, Hawthorn, Brabham, Graham Hill, McLaren, Gurney, Surtees, Clark, Stewart, Rindt, Andretti, Peterson, Fittipaldi, Lauda, Hunt, Scheckter, Jones, Gilles Villeneuve, Piquet, Prost, Mansell, Senna, Hakkinen, Schumacher, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve , Button, Alonso, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Vettel, Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc.


 

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports

240 pages, Hardcover

Published March 12, 2024

Reviews

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of biographies of Formula One's biggest legends. Unfortunately my Advanced Reader's Copy did not have all the photos yet, but there were some amazing old photos shown. The biographies were the perfect length and highlighted all the important achievements of the pilots. Highly recommended for fans for Formula One, old and new both.

Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions.

[Alexandru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great one from Tony Dodgins. Nice old pictures and stories about the Formula 1 champions and great drivers from the last 70 years.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A FANtastic book. Something for anyone with an interest in motor sport, especially Formula One.

By highlighting the “legends” through the Grand Prix era there is a wonderful balance between the individual and the common traits that made for a special racing driver. Giving equal text to all and packed with detailed photographs this history right up to 2022 demonstrates why they are and were great.

A legacy that lives on. For me watching races between Hunt and Lauda, visiting tracks in the U.K. and across Europe it rekindled my joy in this ultimate sport. I used to follow each Grand Prix in the pages of Autosport annually and Motoring News weekly.

This book has brought back many happy memories; it also places into context the safety issues and the sad loss of life and unfulfilled talent. It is quite remarkable that circuits, race tracks and the cars themselves have saved lives.

There is also the hints across these brief biographies of the politics and inner-team rivalries that are often concealed from the fan at the time.

It is also interesting that the drivers were often switching teams. Some being in the right car at the right time and others narrowly missing the technological advances that propelled the cars up the starting grid and into podium finishes.

Above all it is a terrific reference book and will be the introduction for many who will want to learn more and read more widely about their favourite drivers and never forgotten heroes of the track.

[Rachel N · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I've always been a huge fan of Formula One, especially in the 80s and 90s (I have to admit it was Ayrton Senna on the front that first grabbed my attention) and this did not disappoint. The beautifully illustrated biographies of each of the drivers is not just a retelling of their career and races but looks far more into them as people and their place in the sport, particularly the rivalries that they were closely involved in. It's impossible, of course, to have a list of the greatest drivers that everyone will be settle on but it's very difficult to argue with any of those included here and I really enjoyed learning more about those from the eras before I was old enough to watch.
A must for all fans of Formula one through the ages.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

#FormulaOneTheLegends #NetGalley

[Ines Ramos · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a formula one fan i absolutely loved this book! to be honest if i didn't know anything about f1 previously, after reading this book i would be really curious and would go watch a race.
If you're a F1 fan and since we are counting the days for the championship to start I totally recommend this book, it's always so good to know more about something we already enjoy and Formula One: The Legends is perfect for that.
And if you're not a F1 fan (yet) i still recommend this book because you have the opportunity to read more about the legends of the sport and have time to do some research before the championship starts and can start watching.
The pictures were so well chosen, I think I took longer looking at the pictures than reading the text. It was perfect!

Thank you so much Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Ivy Press, for the advanced eARC.

[Indydriven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, I am more of an Indycar fan than Formula One, however, many Indycar drivers and champions have dabbled in both so I was interested to read this book. I enjoyed reading this collection of driver biographies, in particular Andretti, Fittipaldi, Jacques Villeneuve, Gurney, and Mansell because of their connection to Indycar.

This is a great addition to any racing fan's library.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group for a review copy of this book.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Ivy Press and NetGalley for the eARC of Formula One: The Legends! All opinions in this review are my own.

Formula One: The Legends is a fascinating book for both new and old fans alike! It offers short overviews of all the major racers throughout F1's history. It is full of photos and shows the evolution of the cars. This book also highlights how dangerous the sport can be, especially in the early seasons. Overall, this is a great introduction into the sports biggest racers past and present!

Formula One: The Legends would make an excellent gift for any F1 fan and is available on March 12th!

[Emily Neilsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love F1 and this book was just what I needed. I wish I had an in real life version because it would be on my coffee table for all to see. I just adored everything about this book.

[Tanisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC from Ivy Press through NetGalley and this review is based on my own opinion.

Exactly what the title suggests, Formula One: The Legends is a book about some of the greatest Formula One drivers from the past and current grid.
It's a perfect book for every fan of the sport because as a newer fan you will learn a lot about historic drivers and as an older fan you can read about all the hero's of the past.

The book talks about a lot of drivers so all chapters are really short, which in my opinion is great because I do sometimes get bored of longer chapters.
All chapters are also accompanied with beautiful pictures.

I liked reading the book and learning new things about drivers but there was a lot of info in it (for example years and names and brands) which can make it a bit overwhelming sometimes.

[Nid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Formula One: The Legends is a work that one can pick up if they want to know about the evolution of Formula 1 over the year through the lens of the greatest drivers Formula 1 has seen. The work includes the journey of each legend as they ventured into Formula highlighting the pivotal moments of their career, their great rivalries and their connection to the team. It includes drivers like Ascari, Lauda, Fangio, Senna Schumacher, Hamilton, Vettel and Verstappen among others. The work brings to the reader the realization that F1 is a team sport through and through and also sheds light on the importance of all the processes that go on behind the scenes like the making of the car. It also emphasizes the need for drivers to be connected to the team and attuned to their communication. The work would be great for F1 fans, people interested in F1 and people interested in motorsport.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Formula One: The Legends
Format: ebook
ARC: Pub date 3/12/24

Lights out, and away we go!! The only way this book could be better is if it came with sounds….zoom, zoom, zoom. As a somewhat new Formula One fan (post-Michael, pre-Drive to Survive), I loved reading more about the 32 legends of the sport…legends from Moss to Hamilton (okay and Max) and everyone in between. The few pages per driver were perfect, and the photography…so many amazing photos in this book. I knew it would be great when you have Lewis at COTA (My home track!) on page 3.

This book will be excellent for any Formula One fan, new or old.

Thank you, Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Ivy Press, for the advanced ebook, the perfect treat for a fan counting down the days until car reveals and testing.

[Lucy Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so good for Formula one fans that one don’t know the history to some of the best moments in Formula One. But, also this provides some background knowledge about all the legends of Formula especially, those that are no longer with us. I really enjoyed reading this as I love Formula One and was really curious about some of the older drivers that I didn’t get to watch growing up.

Thank you for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

FORMULA ONE: THE LEGENDS looks like it's structured like a coffee book. The photographs are prominent and the text is well-written.

I love the photographs chosen for the two-page spreads.

There was a lot of detail when it came to how the legends won important races or championships. However, there are a lot of names being thrown around and I found some difficulty with keeping up.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and so will anyone else who is a fan of Formula One racing. Here you have the history of the racing by the legends and their history which is what makes it so great. I have been following it since the ’70s and then really got into it when Mario Andretti was driving on the circuit and won the World Championship and I have stayed hooked ever since. This book is an added addition for any fan or the person who wants to find out about the history. Very much worth the read.

[Catarina Geirinhas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley, Ivy Press and Tony Dodgins for this eARC!

I love F1 and when I saw this book for review I just had to read it! It's a great compilation of F1's greatest legends and their achievements and it really takes you down memory lane. This is a well written book, the pictures are of great quality and I just loved Christian Horner's foreword and how he describes racing drivers!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book for any F1 fan.

Presenting the history of F1 through the stories of the "Legends" of the sport was a great way to do it. I learnt a lot about the drivers and the sport's history in general. I like that it highlighted drivers who hadn't won championships but were still amazing drivers.

This would be a great coffee table book.


Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

[Marietere T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything about F1, I have to read it. Sometimes these books get repetitive because the share similar stats and similar information about f1 legends. I liked seeing Max added to the list, you know the man is a beast.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Tessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I considered this quite a dry read.
I didn't like it that the author constantly switched around using a driver's name and surname in the middle of sentence, it ruined the reading flow. I also feel like the order seemed a bit strange from time to time. Rosberg before Vettel? Button before Alonso? I would have picked them based on the year they won their championships.

I loved the chosen pictures though!

[Bea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read from February 26th, 2024 to March ??, 2024. Written on March 12th, 2024.

NEW BOOK RELEASE ALERT!!!

(NOTE: I HAVE NOT FINISHED THIS BOOK YET BUT I AM CONFIDENT IN WHAT I HAVE READ TO GIVE A TRUTHFUL REVIEW)

I am a massive F1 fan thanks to my father, so when I saw the opportunity to read this book, I RAN. And I can easily say that I love it so so much.

First off, it talks about true legends in Formula 1, from Alberto Ascari to Ayrton Senna, Jim Clark and Lewis Hamilton. It mentions the legends who passed too soon and the greats who keep shining on. Secondly, the writing is great, the attention to detail is fenomenal and the images and photos provided are the perfect choice to illustrate each driver perfectly.

And last but not least, I am just in love with it all. I have come to learn so much more about the sport and the drivers I adore and it genuinely has been one of my favourite books of 2024. Completely hooked and I am going to be very sad once I finish it but thrilled I got to experience it sooner.

Signing off,
B,

(Free ARC from NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Ivy Press that I chose to review after reading)

Update: Finished it and my review remains the same.