The Formula

February 1, 2024
An appropriately fast-paced narrative of Formula 1 auto racing, whose popularity is exploding. Wall Street Journal European sportswriter Robinson and editor Clegg, co-authors of The Club, begin their narrative in Bahrain with a cast of drivers "without normal human fear receptors." The drivers represent various brands of race cars whose makers are applying space launch-level science (and budgets) to make their cars cut through the air milliseconds faster than the competition, physics and engineering at play in "a competition where the most decisive action of the season can take place not on the track...but in a wind tunnel simulation." Perhaps improbably, F1 has become a hugely successful sport of late--"improbably" because, compared to, say, soccer, which doesn't require an operator's manual, F1 racing appeals to the inner Einstein as well as the inner Andretti in all of us: "The only way to win championships is to land a series of technical moon shots--and then do it all over again." As Robinson and Clegg note, profiling drivers and deal-makers alike, F1's success has come as a result of a steadily growing franchise that has taken races worldwide, starting in Europe and then across the oceans to places as large as China and the U.S. and as small as Singapore, all masterminded by genius entrepreneur Bernie Ecclestone. Along with him came sponsors with the shrewdness to recognize that many F1 drivers were "overcaffeinated adrenaline junkies with scant regard for their personal safety" but a solid appreciation for big purses. Meanwhile, other entrepreneurs and players remade the sport from an arcane pastime to a species of mass entertainment that, the authors suggest in closing, has become something of "a post-sport sport," capable of being appreciated without ever watching a single race. A thrill for fans of F1, and a fine example of fluid sportswriting.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 15, 2024
The engineers employed as crew on Formula One teams are driven by the need for a decisive edge. In 2022, Mercedes thought they'd found that edge with their W13 model, which would restore them to F1 glory. But the car's unveiling in Bahrain was desultory, revealing a design flaw--the W13 was slower than anticipated. Since the racing organization's founding in 1950, F1 championships have been determined by driver skill, along with vehicle innovation. The sport itself has evolved as the need for speed was balanced with safety precautions. Meanwhile, executives like Bernie Ecclestone, former CEO of the Formula One Group, increased the sport's popularity and branding through various television deals. Today, F1 has grown from a strictly European-followed sport into a global phenomenon. In this exceptional account of an intense sport, Robinson and Clegg (The Club, 2019) paint larger-than-life personalities behind the wheel (like Michael Schumacher) as well as those behind the corporate backers (Enzo Ferrari). The authors go beyond the adrenaline-drenched action of the racetracks in portraying the progression of Formula One.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.