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Burning Rubber: The Extraordinary Story of Formula One
A turbo-charged account of 60 years of Formula One, endangering the lives of its drivers and thrilling its fans since 1950
A white-knuckle drive through the bends, straights, chicanes, and pit stops of Formula One’s checkered history, this the fast and dangerous story of motor sport’s premier competition. It explores the lost world of the 1950s racetrack, the irresistible rise of British constructors in the 1960s, the impact of technological changes from the late 1970s, the advent of the high-profile team boss in the 1980s, and the revolution wrought on the sport by computers in the 1990s. Throughout, there are memorable profiles of the drivers who have risked life and limb on circuits from Monte Carlo to Monzathe ebullient Stirling Moss, the champagne-gargling James Hunt, the cerebral Prost and the mercurial Senna (whose combined brilliance was exceeded only by their mutual loathing), the adenoidal Nigel Mansell, the metronomic Michael Schumacher, the precocious Lewis Hamilton, and the reborn Jenson Button.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 30, 2016
This book is SO close to being an absolute must for all sports fans - let alone motorsport/F1 fans - to read but for a fatal (and unforgiveable) amount of errors in it.
The book starts off well. It gives a brief histroy of each, turbulent decade throughout the history of F1 (and before) and spends the odd chapter here and there focussing on a certain driver, such as James Hunt, or on rivalries between two drivers, such as Senna v Prost. But the more you read the more you wish the book was just, well more really. There are entire seasons not mentioned, legendary drivers who have only a fleeting mention, both of these seem to feature unfortunately around Mika Hakkinen and his title winning seasons of 1998 & 1999, of which only a couple very brief sentances cover Hakkinen's titles, whereas the focus of these years is on Schumacher re-building Ferrari.
2005 is only mentioned as a 'flashback' of sorts, barely detailing the rise & rebirth of Renault and the emergence of Fernando Alonso.
However, a book can only be so long, and when covering the history of an entire sport and a sport such as F1 in particular must focus on certain things or risk doing justice to nothing at all. It's just a shame the book wasn't another 20 pages long in order to ensure that these chapters of the history of F1 were covered.
Where this book lets itself down though is in the research. Or maybe more precisely, the fact checking. There are countless errors, the ones that stand out the most are:
Detailing that Senna hit Prost at turn 1 in Suzuka in 1991 when both drivers were still driving for McLaren, then a paragraph later saying that Prost had been (quite correctly) driving a Ferrari in 1991.
Nigel Mansell winning his title in 1994. Then a few pages later (correctly) saying that he had won his title in 1992.
Saying that Silverstone is in Leicestershire, when it's in Northamptonshire (or Buckinghamshire depending on what part of the circuit you're standing on).
These are small things, but small facts and inconsistencies that should have been picked up during the proof reading of the material before going to press. Whether these have been altered in subsequent editions I have no idea, however there were many similar silly little errors dotted throughout the book.
These things are compounded by the authors far too often use of French to give 'gravitas' to his book. It was as though he was writing a book for sports fans who happened to have a masters from Cambridge. The all too often use was unnecessary and clunky.
The book is by no means a disaster or a failure. It's a very good read for F1 fans and motorsport fans alike. For both the casual viewr, or like me the die hard fan. But because of it's, minor, but often issues it will probably never become a must read for sports fans in general.
Shame really. Because it started so well and had so much potential. In a way it's like the history of F1, littered with teams and drivers who were so close, yet not quite close enough.
The book starts off well. It gives a brief histroy of each, turbulent decade throughout the history of F1 (and before) and spends the odd chapter here and there focussing on a certain driver, such as James Hunt, or on rivalries between two drivers, such as Senna v Prost. But the more you read the more you wish the book was just, well more really. There are entire seasons not mentioned, legendary drivers who have only a fleeting mention, both of these seem to feature unfortunately around Mika Hakkinen and his title winning seasons of 1998 & 1999, of which only a couple very brief sentances cover Hakkinen's titles, whereas the focus of these years is on Schumacher re-building Ferrari.
2005 is only mentioned as a 'flashback' of sorts, barely detailing the rise & rebirth of Renault and the emergence of Fernando Alonso.
However, a book can only be so long, and when covering the history of an entire sport and a sport such as F1 in particular must focus on certain things or risk doing justice to nothing at all. It's just a shame the book wasn't another 20 pages long in order to ensure that these chapters of the history of F1 were covered.
Where this book lets itself down though is in the research. Or maybe more precisely, the fact checking. There are countless errors, the ones that stand out the most are:
Detailing that Senna hit Prost at turn 1 in Suzuka in 1991 when both drivers were still driving for McLaren, then a paragraph later saying that Prost had been (quite correctly) driving a Ferrari in 1991.
Nigel Mansell winning his title in 1994. Then a few pages later (correctly) saying that he had won his title in 1992.
Saying that Silverstone is in Leicestershire, when it's in Northamptonshire (or Buckinghamshire depending on what part of the circuit you're standing on).
These are small things, but small facts and inconsistencies that should have been picked up during the proof reading of the material before going to press. Whether these have been altered in subsequent editions I have no idea, however there were many similar silly little errors dotted throughout the book.
These things are compounded by the authors far too often use of French to give 'gravitas' to his book. It was as though he was writing a book for sports fans who happened to have a masters from Cambridge. The all too often use was unnecessary and clunky.
The book is by no means a disaster or a failure. It's a very good read for F1 fans and motorsport fans alike. For both the casual viewr, or like me the die hard fan. But because of it's, minor, but often issues it will probably never become a must read for sports fans in general.
Shame really. Because it started so well and had so much potential. In a way it's like the history of F1, littered with teams and drivers who were so close, yet not quite close enough.
October 28, 2014
If you're a real big fan of Formula One racing fan, you might enjoy this book. I'm a big fan (getting up all hours of the night or early a.m. to watch the races whether in Kuala Lampur or in Monaco). It'd be hard to take such an exciting sport and make it boring. But this writer did.
His biases for and against certain drivers were transparent and turned me off.
One problem, the fault of the publisher and not the writer, is that though the book is heavily illustrated, the pictures can't be viewed in the e-book edition.
His biases for and against certain drivers were transparent and turned me off.
One problem, the fault of the publisher and not the writer, is that though the book is heavily illustrated, the pictures can't be viewed in the e-book edition.
July 20, 2014
Whilst I enjoyed this, it a a broad brush history of F1 compressed into just under 300 pages. Jennings picks up on some details, but doesn't always expand on the really interesting bits.
I read the updated version, but it skates over the recent history of F1, where we have 6 world champions in the running.
Read if you're a F1 fan, leave if not.
I read the updated version, but it skates over the recent history of F1, where we have 6 world champions in the running.
Read if you're a F1 fan, leave if not.
October 16, 2024
Not a bad book, probably if I’d read it when I won it in a raffle (aroun 2013-4) I might have found it more interesting now it lacks as it ends before most of the current drivers are in the sport (or some possibly before they were born.)it ends just as Hamilton and Vettel are starting out and so whilst the history of the sport was interesting I didn’t ever get interested enough to do more than read a few pages at a time.
May 23, 2019
The perfect book for any newly obsessed fan of Formula One. Dry Wikipedia articles and RacingReference stats can only go so far. This scratches the itch if you're looking for a good general history of F1.
September 22, 2022
Good historical account of F1
April 26, 2024
very engaging except for every single chapter that talked about the brits. i dont give a fuck about the brits
July 31, 2013
Motorsport history is traditionally a pretty dry subject... but not this time. There are only two books on Formula 1 that I would recommend to the ordinary, non-obsessed reader: this one, and
Formula 1 The Autobiography
. And of the two, this is the one I'd keep handy in the bathroom.
What Charles Jennings has done is collate all the driver biographies and team boss memoirs from the last sixty years (basically, the combined back catalogues of Gerald Donaldson and Karl Ludvigsen) and condensed them into one highly readable volume. It's all in there - the grand years of Juan Manuel Fangio; Stirling Moss and the rise of the garagistes; the ascendancy of Jim Clark and Lotus; Fittipaldi, Lauda, Hunt and the 70's; the cataclysmic personal rivalries of the 80's; the commercial and technological takeover of the 90's; and the epoch of Michael Schumacher.
Compressing sixty years into 315 pages means much is abbreviated, obviously - multi-faceted events and complex personalities are ground down to stereotyped caricatures of themselves, and that's okay. Including every nuance would have resulted in a book more massive than that Wikipedia hardcopy, an unreadable mess with no story (you know, like real life). But Jennings wisely sacrificed detail and subtle truthiness for readability, and the resulting tone is almost like a Cracked article (minus the swearing and endless gangsta rap references) making it ideal for getting some motor racing history in front of Millennial revheads.
That also means it's probably the most quotable book on this subject ever written - Jennings says, for example: "...not only was Enzo Ferrari never seen without his Mafia Don sunglasses, he gave the impression that he might even wear them in bed, just to intimidate the dark." Or of the switch to corner-hugging mid-engined cars: "The world of Fangio and Farina and González, real tough guys who sat up and hurled big, brutal cars into four-wheel power-slides, their wrestlers’ arms working, banging the gearchange around as if unblocking a drain: all that was suddenly history." Or of Denis Jenkinson's helpless admiration for Gille Villeneuve: "Such was the power of Villeneuve: bearded men fell in love with him."
The crowning paragraph of this book, however, is a musing on the nature of Formula 1 fandom itself, the weird combination of cynical amusement and wide-eyed passion it seems to generate. That's why this book is so good - it asks that question, of why we who are stuck halfway between idealism and the real world love this "overpriced, overcomplicated, elitist technosport", and comes up with the answer that, sport or no sport, this thing we call Formula 1 is awesome.
Don't believe us? Here's its story. Read it.
What Charles Jennings has done is collate all the driver biographies and team boss memoirs from the last sixty years (basically, the combined back catalogues of Gerald Donaldson and Karl Ludvigsen) and condensed them into one highly readable volume. It's all in there - the grand years of Juan Manuel Fangio; Stirling Moss and the rise of the garagistes; the ascendancy of Jim Clark and Lotus; Fittipaldi, Lauda, Hunt and the 70's; the cataclysmic personal rivalries of the 80's; the commercial and technological takeover of the 90's; and the epoch of Michael Schumacher.
Compressing sixty years into 315 pages means much is abbreviated, obviously - multi-faceted events and complex personalities are ground down to stereotyped caricatures of themselves, and that's okay. Including every nuance would have resulted in a book more massive than that Wikipedia hardcopy, an unreadable mess with no story (you know, like real life). But Jennings wisely sacrificed detail and subtle truthiness for readability, and the resulting tone is almost like a Cracked article (minus the swearing and endless gangsta rap references) making it ideal for getting some motor racing history in front of Millennial revheads.
That also means it's probably the most quotable book on this subject ever written - Jennings says, for example: "...not only was Enzo Ferrari never seen without his Mafia Don sunglasses, he gave the impression that he might even wear them in bed, just to intimidate the dark." Or of the switch to corner-hugging mid-engined cars: "The world of Fangio and Farina and González, real tough guys who sat up and hurled big, brutal cars into four-wheel power-slides, their wrestlers’ arms working, banging the gearchange around as if unblocking a drain: all that was suddenly history." Or of Denis Jenkinson's helpless admiration for Gille Villeneuve: "Such was the power of Villeneuve: bearded men fell in love with him."
The crowning paragraph of this book, however, is a musing on the nature of Formula 1 fandom itself, the weird combination of cynical amusement and wide-eyed passion it seems to generate. That's why this book is so good - it asks that question, of why we who are stuck halfway between idealism and the real world love this "overpriced, overcomplicated, elitist technosport", and comes up with the answer that, sport or no sport, this thing we call Formula 1 is awesome.
Don't believe us? Here's its story. Read it.
July 29, 2012
The book is a good history of the journey of Formula 1. The book is important to understand the course of the sport till 1980's from where on we have documentaries and other images which are known to everyone with an interest in this sport. Reading the book one does understand that the author has a huge soft corner towards Brit teams and Brit drivers and is more eloquent in his praises. However his dislike for some recent legends ( Senna and Schumacher) of the sport are surprising. It is difficult to support a person who dislikes Schumacher and criticizes his attitude to driving and life. Being introduced to the sport @ the height of Ferrari/Schumacher's dominance it is quite hard to believe the author. His reaction to Senna is also surprising. However if one understands the author's biases towards racers/teams post 1980 then I believe that it is a good book to understand the evolution of F1 racing. It is quite hard to believe the stresses and strains the drivers had to face regarding the reliability issues of the car at high speeds in fast circuits like the Nurburgring(Old layout) and Monza for example. One really understands that there is nothing a driver could do if any parts of the car(driveshaft, wheel, steering..) breaks at 200-250 kmph.The sheer number of driver accidents leading to deaths makes us understand the immense improvements that the technology has made in just making the cars reliable
July 31, 2011
I'm not quite sure who this is really aimed at. As a series of short character studies of key players in F1 history, it's actually quite well written and engaging, though not so general as to be likely to much interest the non-fan. It's unlikely, though, to tell the genuine motorsport fan anything he doesn't already know. And the errors are grating. Some of them are forgivable - the 1957 Pescara GP was not as the author suggests a non-championship race. Others might be simply typos. I hope someone writing a book about F1 would do enough research to know that Senna did not drive for Lotus in the mid 90s (by which time both Senna and Lotus were no more). Others, though, are just embarrassing. F1 stopped going to the Nordschliefe in the 80s? And Prost quit Mclaren at the end of the 1990 F1 season? I know I'm sounding like one of these beardy anorak flavoured people but if you're going to publish a book, and certainly a book on something you are clearly not an expert on, get someone to do a basic proof-reading job first.
June 17, 2017
I'm wordless, trying to describe the beauty of this book that it is. The opening story start with the history of motorsport seems a bit bland at first, and you have yet know what is coming. It touched me emotionally and some parts generate the adrenaline but I couldn't find any comical portion pointed by some readers. The writer talks about all interesting events occured through Formula 1, although the chapter about the 2009 season was written sloppily, for I think it can be written as good as the season is.
The bits about what went behind the TV screen established this book as a keeper. Damn those who let go of this book. The plot was arranged in a smooth flow, without interrupting the timeframe. The language used prevent readers from getting boring. Words are seldom repeated, vast vocabulary. And there are so much information and story that you couldn't find on the internet.
I'm just wordless. Go read it yourself.
The bits about what went behind the TV screen established this book as a keeper. Damn those who let go of this book. The plot was arranged in a smooth flow, without interrupting the timeframe. The language used prevent readers from getting boring. Words are seldom repeated, vast vocabulary. And there are so much information and story that you couldn't find on the internet.
I'm just wordless. Go read it yourself.
February 23, 2011
Great book that doesn't bog down in trivial detail. Pick up the many themes and defining points in Formula 1, and confirms that F1 is the peak of all sports which effects our everyday lives.
It does however highlight one thing for me.
The modern day drivers since Schumacher and Hakkinen have introduced a young bred of drivers with little mastery of many of the overall requirements to rival that of Senna or Schumacher, leading to falling viewers worldwide and aggressive marketing for ticket sales at events.
One thing for certain though, a sport at its pinnacle needs constant change, effective management and the return of fan involvement for it remain as such in the coming decades.
This book very clearly outlines the history of F1, a timely reminder of the way forward, after the vacuum created in 2006.
It does however highlight one thing for me.
The modern day drivers since Schumacher and Hakkinen have introduced a young bred of drivers with little mastery of many of the overall requirements to rival that of Senna or Schumacher, leading to falling viewers worldwide and aggressive marketing for ticket sales at events.
One thing for certain though, a sport at its pinnacle needs constant change, effective management and the return of fan involvement for it remain as such in the coming decades.
This book very clearly outlines the history of F1, a timely reminder of the way forward, after the vacuum created in 2006.
August 30, 2012
A decent introduction to Formula 1 for anybody not familiar with the roots and developments of the sport. At times it becomes laughable for the patched up information, half truths and marked biases (for sure the author is not a Senna fun!..,). Overall the somewhat brief overview of 60 years of Formula 1 allows to make some interesting connections and observations that help to understand why F1 got the way that it is now and what could become of it in the future...
December 18, 2012
Written in a rather conversational style, Burning Rubber covers the history of motor racing. It is heavily Anglo-centric, and there is much more written about the last twenty years than the first forty.
While many reviews of this book slate Jennings for a perceived bias against Michael Schumacher, they are in fact only illustrating their own biases. Jennings portrays both sides of the German: the legend, and the cheat.
While many reviews of this book slate Jennings for a perceived bias against Michael Schumacher, they are in fact only illustrating their own biases. Jennings portrays both sides of the German: the legend, and the cheat.
May 9, 2013
A good concise history of Formula 1. I found the organization very haphazard and vague. It's mostly an account of the drivers and the politics which follow them. There is very little commentary on the technical developments. And the author tends to be a bit biased towards English drivers and teams. But that's to be expected in F1 where almost all teams are based in UK.
January 23, 2014
Only read this is you are an F1 fan as I am. It was an enjoyable enough read, but you didn't really get enough to drag you in. You didn't feel the speed and danger of the worlds biggest spectator sport.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews