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Grid to Glory: 75 Milestone Formula One Moments
Celebrating the Formula 1 World Championship’s 75th season in unique, sometimes poignant, sometimes shocking and always high-energy style with Channel 4’s face of F1, Alex Jacques.
Over 75 chapters, Alex Jacques tells the story of Formula 1’s rise, fall and recovery through the extraordinary moments that shaped the direction of the world’s most dramatic sport. Covering the teams, the drivers, the bosses and the pit crews, Alex Jacques truly takes us trackside to feel the energy and hear from the personalities we love to watch.
Stories range from moments of awestruck disbelief at the money associated with the sport; huge personalities and the hijinks they wreak at every turn; moments of clarity that can change the course of a driver’s career; the true story of why Ferrari did not sell to Ford in 1963, which ensured Ferrari would remain ever-present in the F1 World Championship; how a simple misreading of regulations led to the making of a monster car. These iconic stories and many more will make this an F1 classic title.
Colourfully written and encompassing every aspect of the unique composition of elite motorsport – glamour, rivalry, death, strategy, technology, business and controversy – this book will appeal to old and new fans of the sport, as its mix of known and never-before-told stories provide context to some of the most talked-about incidents in sporting history.
Over 75 chapters, Alex Jacques tells the story of Formula 1’s rise, fall and recovery through the extraordinary moments that shaped the direction of the world’s most dramatic sport. Covering the teams, the drivers, the bosses and the pit crews, Alex Jacques truly takes us trackside to feel the energy and hear from the personalities we love to watch.
Stories range from moments of awestruck disbelief at the money associated with the sport; huge personalities and the hijinks they wreak at every turn; moments of clarity that can change the course of a driver’s career; the true story of why Ferrari did not sell to Ford in 1963, which ensured Ferrari would remain ever-present in the F1 World Championship; how a simple misreading of regulations led to the making of a monster car. These iconic stories and many more will make this an F1 classic title.
Colourfully written and encompassing every aspect of the unique composition of elite motorsport – glamour, rivalry, death, strategy, technology, business and controversy – this book will appeal to old and new fans of the sport, as its mix of known and never-before-told stories provide context to some of the most talked-about incidents in sporting history.
- GenresNonfictionRacing
320 pages, Paperback
Published November 18, 2025
30 people are currently reading
176 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 31, 2025
As for the 75 milestones contained within, there's no doubt that Alex Jacques knows his history. He's plucked interesting anecdotes from throughout the history of Formula 1 and even enhanced my understanding of some I was familiar with already.
What dinged this down to three stars to me was the writing. I'm not sure if there was much editing done because there are a lot of semicolons. Like multiple per paragraph. One example: "Jean-Marie Balestre, intervened; pole position would stay away from the racing line again." Why the comma?
I'm also afraid that by releasing this with only a portion of 2025's season established, some of the facts within are already slightly outdated. Oh Alex, you huffed so much hopium...
What dinged this down to three stars to me was the writing. I'm not sure if there was much editing done because there are a lot of semicolons. Like multiple per paragraph. One example: "Jean-Marie Balestre, intervened; pole position would stay away from the racing line again." Why the comma?
I'm also afraid that by releasing this with only a portion of 2025's season established, some of the facts within are already slightly outdated. Oh Alex, you huffed so much hopium...
November 15, 2025
Alex Jacques' infectiously enthusiastic, passionate and poetic commentating style really shines through in his writing. He has such a special skill for really capturing the emotion of every moment, making these historical races feel like it's happening right then as you're reading it.
Just like I'll always remember his commentary when Charles Leclerc won his first Monaco Grand Prix word-for-word, this book has been truly memorable in a way that I haven't found a lot of accounts of F1 lore to be. It does a really great job of unifying all the dramatic highs and lows of F1, and telling stories that have almost been lost to time for younger fans, where you really see the impact that all these big names have actually had both on each other and on the sport.
F1 has seen a lot tragedy and death, and this is the first time I really felt the emotional toll of those defining moments; his chapters on Villeneuve/Pironi, Senna's death, and Charles and Jules even had me crying.
Would really recommend this to any F1 fan, whether you already know the history or not. This is a retelling through the lens of someone with genuine love and respect (and, most importantly, wheel knowledge), which you don't see often enough.
Just like I'll always remember his commentary when Charles Leclerc won his first Monaco Grand Prix word-for-word, this book has been truly memorable in a way that I haven't found a lot of accounts of F1 lore to be. It does a really great job of unifying all the dramatic highs and lows of F1, and telling stories that have almost been lost to time for younger fans, where you really see the impact that all these big names have actually had both on each other and on the sport.
F1 has seen a lot tragedy and death, and this is the first time I really felt the emotional toll of those defining moments; his chapters on Villeneuve/Pironi, Senna's death, and Charles and Jules even had me crying.
Would really recommend this to any F1 fan, whether you already know the history or not. This is a retelling through the lens of someone with genuine love and respect (and, most importantly, wheel knowledge), which you don't see often enough.
November 6, 2025
A great insight into some great moments in the history of F1. Really easy to read and get a sense of some amazing moments and learn about some moments I wasn’t overly familiar with. A great way to digest the history of the sport in a collection of short bite sized moments that give you a create collection of moments from 1950 right thought to 2025.
November 6, 2025
this is my first year watching F1 so was a really helpful insight to the history of the sport
November 19, 2025
A definite book to read (or get) for an avid F1 fan! It is good insight to things you don't normally hear about and especially so the stories from before I started to watch F1, especially early days and how actions then helped modify the sport that we love to watch.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews