Sometimes winning at love means finding the courage to take a second lap in the new title in Carla Veloce’s F1 themed Winning Formula series.
It’s been nearly ten years since Billie and Dante broke each other’s hearts. They’ve mostly kept their distance since, but this season is going to bring them up close and personal whether they like it or not.
Nobody does motor sport documentary storytelling quite like Billie Simon. In just over three years, she’s taken Full Throttle from glimmer of an idea to a worldwide sensation, bringing millions of eager new fans to the world of high-performance racing. And Season 3 of the show everyone’s talking about is going to be hotter than ever, with mega-brand Scuderia Fabbro joining the line-up of featured teams in front of the camera. There’s only one cloud on Billie’s bright horizon – Fabbro team principal Dante Marchetti.
One of the youngest-ever principals to lead a racing team, Dante Marchetti has taken the helm at Scuderia Fabbro during an unprecedented slump in their performance. Fabbro is quickly becoming the place where driver careers go to die. But with his brooding good looks and famous trackside passion, the fans couldn’t love him more. If only the shareholders were as easily dazzled by fitted white shirts and TikTok thirst edits. After over a decade of lacklustre results and embarrassing missteps, time might finally be up for Italy’s beloved racing team. Dante has just one racing season to bring Fabbro back to championship contention, and the Full Throttle feature is key to his comeback strategy. If only the show didn’t come with a painfully familiar ghost from his past.
The cameras are rolling, the world is watching. Will their ambitions spell the end of their relationship once and for all? Or will they be able to heal past hurts and find their road back to each other?
The complete list of narrators includes Luke Arnold, Alison McGirr, Pia Miranda, Nic English, John Waters, Vince Colosimo, Felicity Jurd, Lewis Fitzgerald, Henry Nixon, Tai Hara, Lucy Bell, Justin Hill, Nick White, Evan Evagora, Aidan Knox, James O'Connell, Joshua Orpin, Adam-Jon Fiorentino, Ryan Corr, Maddy MacRae, Ben Chapple, Laurence Boxhall, Ottie Clarke, Pia McMorran and Georgia Lindley.
🎧 Loved the racing atmosphere in this one—the commentators and sound effects in the audiobook made it feel so real. I also liked how it explored the impact of living in the public eye, not just on the drivers but on the people around them. The little F1 moments had me laughing too, especially the “my seat is full of water” line… Charles Leclerc immediately came to mind. 😂 If your an F1 fan like me then this will be a fun read or listen for you 🏎️
very fun. great narrators. personally i would probably not have accepted that invitation to that event in Camairore, May 2025 but Billie does it for the plot and I admire that
I’ll be honest… the first book in this series is still sitting comfortably on my TBR, minding its own business. So why did I jump straight into book two?
Well… when I started watching Formula One and Drive to Survive, there were two certain Team Principals who caught my attention. 🫣😩 So the second I read that the MMC in this one was a Team Principal, suddenly reading in order became significantly less important to me. Priorities.
And I’m actually really glad this wasn’t another F1 romance where the sport is basically just cars in the background while the driver falls in love. Dante being the Team Principal of Scuderia Fabbro (Ferrari) gave us a completely different side of Formula One. We got the politics, shareholders, media pressure, sponsorships, team performance, strategy, technical conversations and the general nightmare of trying to keep an F1 team alive when everyone expects results yesterday. I loved seeing scenarios that felt like problems an actual TP could face.
There was still a good amount of racing too, even though Dante isn’t a driver, which I really appreciated! 🏎️
And Dante being one of the youngest Team Principals did not bother me. I’ve seen people question whether someone in their early thirties being a TP is realistic, but let us never forget that Christian Horner became Red Bull’s Team Principal at 31 and proceeded to have an insanely successful career. Hate him, love him, throw tomatoes at your television when he appears on Drive to Survive—the résumé is still the résumé!!!
As for Dante and Billie, I’m a sucker for second-chance romance (when done right), so the nearly ten years of history between them immediately had me interested. I liked that they weren’t two people who could simply pick up where they left off. There was baggage there. Hurt feelings. Miscommunication. Two extremely ambitious people who had built entire lives and careers apart from each other and now had to figure out whether there was actually room for the other person in those lives.
I also liked the complication of Billie being behind Full Throttle while Dante desperately needed the show to help change the narrative surrounding Fabbro. Having their careers tangled together added another layer because neither of them could completely separate the relationship from what was happening professionally. And considering Full Throttle is very obviously giving Drive to Survive, I enjoyed all the little moments dealing with cameras, public perception, headlines and how quickly the paddock can turn someone into entertainment.
NOW.
THE AUDIOBOOK.
Excuse me?????
I went into this expecting two narrators.
Instead, there is a ridiculous number of people in this cast, and to every single one of you: THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
The audiobook alone gets five stars from me.
The commentators. The engineers. The drivers. The radio messages. The crowds. The cars. The racing sound effects. The background noise.
CHEF’S KISS. 🤌
During the racing scenes, it felt less like I was listening to an audiobook and more like I had accidentally turned on an F1 broadcast while simultaneously being allowed into the garage. Hearing the commentators during the races and then cutting to the drivers and engineers over the radio made those scenes ridiculously immersive. I wish more radio messages were broadcasted during the live feed. Yes, I have F1 TV and can swap but it’s a pain when you want to listen to multiple drivers radios.
Honestly, if you’re planning to read this book, I HIGHLY recommend listening to it instead. The production adds so much to the experience.
My biggest issue, and probably what kept this around a 3.5 instead of a 4+, was the POV.
I really, really wish this had been written in first person.
Dante and Billie have so much history between them, and there were plenty of moments where I wanted to crawl directly into their heads. I wanted Dante’s thoughts while trying to save his team AND deal with the woman he never really got over. I wanted more of Billie internally working through what happened between them ten years ago versus what she wanted from him now. I think first person would have made their yearning, resentment, attraction and emotional connection hit so much harder for me.
I liked them together, but I wanted to feel them more.
And this is also a closed-door romance. Listen, I do not require every romance I read to have somebody getting railed against a hospitality-unit wall by chapter twelve. 😂 I don’t need a 5/5 spice level. But with THIS particular couple? With almost ten years of unresolved history and sexual tension sitting between them?
Open. The. Door.
PLEASE.
I think having that extra intimacy combined with first-person POV would have made me much more emotionally invested in Dante and Billie’s relationship.
Overall, though, this was a really fun F1 listen. I loved getting a romance centred around a Team Principal rather than a driver, I loved the business side of Formula One, and the audiobook production was genuinely one of the coolest audiobook experiences I’ve had.
This might be the longest review I’ve ever written, but what can I say? A guy really loves Formula One.
Story: 3.5 ⭐️ Audiobook production: 5 ⭐️ Me immediately becoming interested because someone said “Team Principal”: unfortunately, 500 ⭐️ 🫠🏎️
I had a great time with the first book in this series, but I think this one's bucked the sophomore slump. Full disclosure, I took a minute to adjust to the way this one is recorded with all the voices, but once I was in, I was in. Absolutely living for the little romance Easter eggs (I see you, Song of Achilles!) and the yearning and sexual tension was on point. 'I don't think of you at all'?!? Fam, I SCREAMED
Following my absolute love for The Winning Formula, I couldn't wait to dive into this sequel when it was released on Audible originals (as a free listen!)
After the success of 'Full Throttle', the show that follows F1 teams around the circuit, sports journalist, Billie Simon is trying to continue its success after season 2 heading into season 3. The protagonist in this book is Billie, whose focus of this season is Dante Marchetti, the principal of Italian race team, Scuderia Fabbro. They knew each other back in their university days and now being forced back together in front of the cameras has some past issues coming to the surface...
I realised when listening to this that I loved The Winning Formula because of the characters. This one was let down by the main characters. I didn't love Billie and Dante, individually or as a couple. Because Dante was behind the scenes and not a driver, I missed the racing elements from The Winning Formula. The production, the sound effects, the commentary were all great but it just wasn't as good as Book 1 in my opinion. I wish I'd got to see more snippets of Finn and Sienna. A little disappointing, but still an easy listen, nonetheless.
Unfortunately after listening to this book I feel like this book suffered from second book syndrome. I think I just enjoyed book one so much that this left me feeling a little flat.
As always the F1 world was interesting and it was great to catch up with past characters. I loved Finn and Sienna and their story from book one that it was hard to go into this book without comparing Billie and Dante to them. I felt like their story was a little recycled with similar tension points and high stake moments in their relationship as was seen in book one.
The sound effects and voice actors all did an amazing job and it is a real testament to the production team.
Forgot to share the review - sorry! (12 April 2026)
In this sequel, we follow Billie Simon, producer of Lumaflix’s ‘Full Throttle’ (aka loosely Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive.’) A fresh new team has joined the Full Throttle lineup this season, in the form of renown legacy F1 team Scuderia Fabbro (… do I really have to link this?) Our second lead Dante Marchetti, is a team principal trying to keep the brand afloat when they’ve not won a race in eight years. Enter: the show that could send his team into orbit and could be a PR dream… he’s just got to try and not to think about the woman he loves who got away… and she’s just gotta start pulling away from his orbit. Or not!
There are about ten different threads in this novel, tying together into a story with the stakes, history and relationships to make these two leads (and their supporting cast) all the more believable. I won’t deny that even with my enthusiasm for this title to be released, I had my concerns. Trying to do better than ‘The Winning Formula’ was a huge ask! However, following a totally different trajectory to the first novel was the gift that kept on giving. Dante’s family and friends, Billie’s sister Sharon, the Full Throttle and Scuderia Fabbro teams were highlights in themselves, and the stress of very real positions shone through without cracks. You have to really love what you do to go through the shit these two do, and I would not want to be either of these characters!
Multiple callbacks and appearances of characters from the first book really helped Full Throttle - and Racing Hearts - to feel like the narrative is continuing to grow and shift. I still LOVE that this is a full cast recording! In this instalment I also appreciate that it doesn’t shy away from a good “Allora!” - truly, a linguistic gift from the Italians. While I was a bit thrown initially by the Aussie-Italian accents (or some of the Italians straight up sounding Australian,) the unexpected second chance romance of Full Throttle was a delight. I can’t wait for the next instalment next year!
QUOTES:
“What’s too soon or too late when it comes to grief? I’ll never be ready for my Father to be gone, whether it was when he died, or now. Or, 50 years from now.”
Billie squeezed her hand as the moonlight limmed the sheen of tears in her eyes.
“But I’ve watched Mama blossom with Giovanni these last two years, and I won’t be the person who tells her she has to wait to restart her life because I am not ready to move on. If she’s lucky enough to get a second shot of happiness, I’m glad she’s taking it with both hands and run! We all got a real appreciation for not wasting time in those final years with Papa.”
— Chapter 20 - Camaoire, May 2025. 4:13:45
He’d be hoping for a while now to change that. For her to see him for who he could be.
He often wished he could remember when he realised she was the only forever for him. The poets talked about tumbling into love like it was a finite moment. A sudden “eureka!”
But for him, it had been a steady cascade of tiny moments of joy and heartbreak, laughter and tears.
— Chapter 21 - Camaoire, May 2025. 4:32:07
“Gratzie Mille Mila, I owe you my firstborn.”
She waved him off with disgusted elegance. “What would I want with that? Give me another Birkin and keep you sticky fingered future children to yourself”
— Chapter 27 - Scheifling, June 2025. 5:30:19
Review written/quotes collated: 13 March 2026
Think I might’ve enjoyed this even more than the first book - RTC but had to note I finished it at the end of the Aus GP 2026 race day 🙌 (I am SOOOO looking forward to the next book and what drama Milo (Pronounced “Meelo”? Spelling unsure, it’s hard with audiobooks sometimes) is going to cook up in his book!)
Awesome production by Audible. Dante and Billie were interesting main characters. I still think about The Winning Formula from time to time so I was really looking forward to this audiobook, and it was worth the wait!
Another super fun immersive F1 romance audiobook by Cara! As a Ferrari fan, this was so funny. Loved all the real-life references lol. I couldn't stop picturing Frederic as the MMC tho because he's the team manager irl 😭😂😂
Loved this, the first book was great but this one had me wishing for the main characters that all would be ok. Hope they will continue with more in this series
Really loved the first one, it was clear it was inspired by real events. This one is just so far over the line of fan fiction that it just directly quotes real events. Very takes me out of fiction universe
I enjoyed this even more than the first book. Billie & Dante's relationship was complex and deep. You could see each POV. This book was less about racing and more about F1 business and marketing, which as. F1 fan was just as enjoyable. Production was next level, you felt immersed like watching a play. Narration by Luke Arnold & Alison McGirr was brillant and the chemistry was palpable.
4🌟 I loved listening to this book as an audio book. Having australian narrators in it was wonderful. its nice to see other authors doing F1 stories. I highly recommend u listen to Dante and Billies story. I need to go and listen to the first one.
“There is nothing left of me if you take all the parts that are you”
Once again the F1 sports romance was a really enjoyable listen. The full production and narration is great! It really showed how cut throat the F1 industry is. Another strong female in sport FMC too.
Do recommend for a pallet cleanser 👌🏼
🚗 F1 sports romance 🚗 Second chance 🚗 Workplace 🚗 Females in sport 🚗 Multicast narration 🚗 Dual timeline 🚗 Forced proximity
It was a little chaotic and all over the place at times, with multiple timelines and different POVs to keep track of, so it took me a while to settle into the story.
That said, I still enjoyed the ride and found it an entertaining listen overall.
I quit this book with an hour to go! I read the first in the series and enjoyed it, and this was fine except:
It's a second chance romance. The main characters where together at uni and broke up because Billie didn't want to follow Dante to Italy. At least she thought they broke up, he thought they were on a break. then Billie married someone else and moved to America. That guy is not important. Billie and Dante get back together there is some drama and Billie still acts like a 20 year old, hanging up and failing to communicate. I never saw any reason they should be together, so I can't bring myself to listen to the last hour, all the time hoping that the question on the back "Will their ambitions spell the end of their relationship once and for all? Or will they be able to heal past hurts and find their road back to each other? ' is answered yes and no respectively.
Also Billie actually thinks she's a journalist and documentary film producer when she's making reality TV about car racing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.