Formula Fast: Your Ultimate Guide to Formula One Racing!

by Matt Ralphs, Dragan Kordic (Artist)

64 pages, Hardcover

Published February 4, 2026

Reviews

[YSBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

This appealing look at Formula One racing will engage both gearheads and new fans with its thoughtful organization, comprehensive inquiry, and slick digital graphics. Phaidon’s books often delight with their gorgeous design and this one is no exception. Taking full advantage of the book’s large size, it opens with a detailed table of contents shaped like a race course and complete with tiny cars, spread out over two pages. Despite the playful illustrations, the author hasn’t dumbed down the content, opting instead to streamline it into digestible chunks while providing a glossary at the back of the book. Readers will learn about the history of the sport, the scope of the season, and the business behind the races, but also a lot about the cars’ designs and technical details. Many sections open with a guiding question, such as, “How can you train to win in these tough conditions?”, which presents information on physical conditioning for drivers.  Author Matt Ralphs pays special attention to safety, with several two-page spreads devoted to innovations over time, a cutaway view of the contemporary cars’ features, and a look at the racer’s protective gear. Aware of the predominance of white men in Formula One racing, the book also commits pages to “Formula Female” (making progress toward gender inclusion) and “Drivers Making a Difference” (driver Lewis Hamilton’s efforts to make the sport more racially diverse), and incorporates women, people of color, and disabled people into all the illustrations. Although digital art can sometimes be flat and soulless, these images were bright, exciting, and perfectly matched to the machines under discussion. The decision to use illustration instead of photos allows Dragan Kordić to focus our attention on important details, such as the minutia of the Formula One steering wheel (which Ralphs describes as looking more like a game controller).  Infographic-style diagrams appear throughout and offer readers the opportunity to decode the twists and turns of a color-coded track, compare the various racing flags, and observe a bird’s eye view of a pit stop. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Speed fanatics and race car junkies are going to get their thrills as these pages expose all sorts of technical, historic, and excitement goodness.

This book centers around the Formula One race and takes readers on a deep dive into the sport. From the history of the race to facts about the cars, each page delivers details to enlighten and raise awareness of everything this sport encompasses. The illustrations are bright, bold, and clear to not only support the information with visual assistance but also deliver energy and excitement, too. The information hits quick and precise with direct facts, which are easy to understand and interesting as well.

While there is a bit of general information in these pages surrounding the history of the race, most time is spent on making it clear how much technology, security, work, and more goes into each event and takes place behind the scenes. From the pit crew with each member and their job to layouts of the tracks at highlighted races to the workout that drivers need to do to keep neck, back, and shoulder muscles strong, these pages divulge how much is involved in this sport. Then, there's the technical end...and I especially appreciated this aspect...which explains the various tires involved, controls the drivers have, how specialized even the seats are, and so much more. In other words, readers will quickly realize that the driver is only a small part of the entire process. Plus, it exposes the large amount of professions involved in forming one race...in other words, future career ideas, too.

The text is easy to read, and although there is quite a bit of information packed into these pages, it comes across smoothly and doesn't overwhelm. Much of this is thanks to the short paragraph style and how carefully the themes are laid out with the illustrations. It makes the information easy to consume and revisit as desired. At the end of the book, there's a satisfying glossary for many of the terms to round things off.

These pages not only raise excitement and awareness for the sport, they also deepen the respect for everything involved.

[Gigi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am I interested in car racing? No, I am not. But that did not stop me from enjoying Formula Fast. The information in this book is interesting, but the format and text features make it truly engaging. Readers will learn everything they ever wanted to know, and lots more!
Illustrator, Dragan Kordic has filled it with colorful text features including diagrams, lists, maps, biographical information...you name it. I have just the reader in my library who would LOVE to be the first to read Formula Fast.