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On the Grid: The Inside Track on Formula One
I’ve always vowed the moment the grid stops being the best part of my race weekend, it’s time to stop working in F1. It’s everything about the sport the sounds, the smells, the tension, the glamor, the people.
This is the story of life in F1.
Luke Smith has spent over ten years reporting on Formula 1 from all over the world. The grid is his playground, the track his literal running track. In On the Grid he takes us behind the scenes of the past, present and future of Formula 1, telling its story through the eyes of the people who create it - not just the superstar drivers and larger-than-life team principals, but also the the pit crew, the engineers, strategists, PR gurus, the fans and more.
There's plenty of thrilling drama, cutting-edge technology and glamour, but Smith also shows us the critical mid-race decisions, how that 50-pence screw in the wrong place could cause a £15m car to break down, how F1 has influenced not just the cars we drive but our fridges, life-saving medical equipment and even croissants.
On the Grid brings to life what the sport is really like, revealing the extraordinary minds and characters that give it such colour and intrigue, while also tracing the origins of the sport's traditions and impact beyond the track. For both long-time fans and newcomers, it's the definitive, access-all-areas account of the people, personalities and culture that make F1 stand alone in world sport.
This is the story of life in F1.
Luke Smith has spent over ten years reporting on Formula 1 from all over the world. The grid is his playground, the track his literal running track. In On the Grid he takes us behind the scenes of the past, present and future of Formula 1, telling its story through the eyes of the people who create it - not just the superstar drivers and larger-than-life team principals, but also the the pit crew, the engineers, strategists, PR gurus, the fans and more.
There's plenty of thrilling drama, cutting-edge technology and glamour, but Smith also shows us the critical mid-race decisions, how that 50-pence screw in the wrong place could cause a £15m car to break down, how F1 has influenced not just the cars we drive but our fridges, life-saving medical equipment and even croissants.
On the Grid brings to life what the sport is really like, revealing the extraordinary minds and characters that give it such colour and intrigue, while also tracing the origins of the sport's traditions and impact beyond the track. For both long-time fans and newcomers, it's the definitive, access-all-areas account of the people, personalities and culture that make F1 stand alone in world sport.
- GenresNonfiction
303 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 13, 2025
6 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 6, 2025
( Format : Audiobook )
"Innovation, adaptation and competition."
What a fabulous book.
With the new rise of interest in Formula 1,especially a.angst the younger adult members of society, there has been an accompanying surge of books about it from autobiographies of drivers, and the vast army of mechanics and others in and beyond the pitwall. Great and many are very enjoyable. But this book goes beyond that, stuffed with facts about how much it costs for an aspiring driver to work their way through text different levels before they can hope to try for an F1 licence - the cost of dedication not only of the potential racer but of their entire family even to selling the family home in an attempt to raise the vast sums of money needed. It covers the passion, dedication and the drivers, the physical extremes sometimes endured, the circuits old and new and the people who built them. The various constructor teams, the financial as well as the uplifting feelings from factory floor to team principal on winning from the constructor and drivers.
And what of female drivers - yes, there have been two who raced in F1 in the past - and the up-and-coming women of today,,both as far s and behind the wheel. It goes on - fact, figure and so much more. I have watched F1 since the 1990s, read .any of the books published since but I learned so much from this marvellous inclusive book and from it could taste that "pushing the boundaries of what is possible" and connecting with the speed and thrills as well as the people.
With an excellent narration by Joe Eyre.
Wonderful.
"Innovation, adaptation and competition."
What a fabulous book.
With the new rise of interest in Formula 1,especially a.angst the younger adult members of society, there has been an accompanying surge of books about it from autobiographies of drivers, and the vast army of mechanics and others in and beyond the pitwall. Great and many are very enjoyable. But this book goes beyond that, stuffed with facts about how much it costs for an aspiring driver to work their way through text different levels before they can hope to try for an F1 licence - the cost of dedication not only of the potential racer but of their entire family even to selling the family home in an attempt to raise the vast sums of money needed. It covers the passion, dedication and the drivers, the physical extremes sometimes endured, the circuits old and new and the people who built them. The various constructor teams, the financial as well as the uplifting feelings from factory floor to team principal on winning from the constructor and drivers.
And what of female drivers - yes, there have been two who raced in F1 in the past - and the up-and-coming women of today,,both as far s and behind the wheel. It goes on - fact, figure and so much more. I have watched F1 since the 1990s, read .any of the books published since but I learned so much from this marvellous inclusive book and from it could taste that "pushing the boundaries of what is possible" and connecting with the speed and thrills as well as the people.
With an excellent narration by Joe Eyre.
Wonderful.
April 14, 2025
What is this book about?
This book is about what goes on behind the scenes every race weekend, ranging from the factory to the pitwall all the way to the cockpit.
Favourite part of the story and why?
My favourite part of the story was when they had a section for the book about all the Drivers and what they think about the demands of the sport.
Favourite character and why?
Luke Smith was the Narrator/journalist of the story talking about Formula 1.
What is a lesson or a fact that you learned from this book?
That they are trying to go net zero carbon by 2030.
Give your review out of 5 stars
5/5
This book is about what goes on behind the scenes every race weekend, ranging from the factory to the pitwall all the way to the cockpit.
Favourite part of the story and why?
My favourite part of the story was when they had a section for the book about all the Drivers and what they think about the demands of the sport.
Favourite character and why?
Luke Smith was the Narrator/journalist of the story talking about Formula 1.
What is a lesson or a fact that you learned from this book?
That they are trying to go net zero carbon by 2030.
Give your review out of 5 stars
5/5
February 28, 2025
I really like Luke's F1 journalism, been following and reading him for years.
There is nothing to this book. It is ... I don't even know what it is. A sprinkling of pieces of interviews very loosely connected along with some nothing tales that don't even go behind any of the scenes.
There is nothing new or interesting in here at all, nothing not already covered - widely covered before. I have no idea what the inside track is. Rehashing stories from over the years, Hamilton's Mission 44, Vettel's bees... inside track?
Oooof.
There is nothing to this book. It is ... I don't even know what it is. A sprinkling of pieces of interviews very loosely connected along with some nothing tales that don't even go behind any of the scenes.
There is nothing new or interesting in here at all, nothing not already covered - widely covered before. I have no idea what the inside track is. Rehashing stories from over the years, Hamilton's Mission 44, Vettel's bees... inside track?
Oooof.
March 13, 2025
The book itself doesn’t really reveal anything new, unless you’re fascinated by Australian croissants 🤷🏻♀️
The narrator was a definite mis-hire; he obviously knows nothing about F1, as he couldn’t pronounce driver names or cities, in many cases.
All a bit cringe.
The narrator was a definite mis-hire; he obviously knows nothing about F1, as he couldn’t pronounce driver names or cities, in many cases.
All a bit cringe.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews