by Gerald Donaldson

The first book reviewed is actually not a history book but actually a contemporary (1990) chronicle of the Formula 1 "circus". I found this book on the "sale" stack of the Chater's Motoring Booksellers booth at the British Grand Prix recently. What do they say about one man's garbage..? Grand Prix People is its title and it is published by Motor Racing Publications Ltd. Gerald Donaldson, the author, is well known for his previous book titled Gilles Villeneuve: The Life of the Legendary Racing Driver. This book is the result of spending a year walking through the pit lane, pressroom and paddock and talking to the people at the heart of Grand Prix Racing. The book contains 110 first person accounts of what living in this circus we call Formula 1 is really like. The accounts range from half a page to 10 pages in length.

While I thoroughly enjoyed this book and feel that it is a welcome addition to my library I do have a couple of problems with its content and organization. The first problem concerns the selection of personalities included in this book. The author has included only 6 active drivers in comparison to there being 47 members of the press! Whether this is due to his feeling more comfortable amongst his peers or the fact that few other drivers had anything useful to say is unknown. I would have appreciated the addition of Martin Brundle and Gerhard Berger into this mix. My other problem concerns how this book is organized. The personalities were organized into one of three groups depending on where they might be found on race day. Rather than resorting to such strict divisions the book might have been better served by having the articles organized around themes such as the life of a mechanic, personal anecdotes, commercialism in Formula 1 or a drivers view of danger and his own mortality.

Criticisms aside the advantage of a book of this nature this is similar to eating all appetizers for dinner in that you can pick and choose. In this book there is much to choose from. There are remembrances of some of the participants who have been involved in the Formula 1 World Championships since its beginning in 1950. All the drivers complain about the politics and infighting in Formula 1 while their mechanics talk about their relationships with the mechanics from the other teams and the friendly competition. Another interesting sidelight is the fact that this book was published in 1990 and you can see how some of these drivers developed. Ricardo Patrese a popular elder statesman when he retired was considered dangerously aggressive when he was starting out, even being banned from one race in the face of a threatened driver boycott. This was a result of being unfairly blamed for the death of Ronnie Peterson at Monza in 1978. Ironic parallels can be drawn from the four years Patrese had to wait while the Italian courts deliberated his guilt or innocence. Nigel Mansell at the top of his game unable to mask his inferiority complex would announce his (temporary) retirement. Ayrton Senna gives a remarkable description of his qualifying attempt for the 1988 Monte Carlo GP and once again we are reminded of what we have lost.

In conclusion this is a valuable book which will help the reader gain some insight into the personalities that make up Formula 1.