Formula One is about speed, glamour, danger, power and money – and with the start of the 2019 season interest has never been higher, writes Layth Yousif.
‘Driven: The Men Who Made Formula One’ by Hitchin’s very own Kevin Eason is the perfect accompaniment to the compelling global circus that is F1.
Eason spent two decades as motor racing correspondent for The Times, during which time he clocked up more than 300 grands prix as well as interviewing top politicians.
His experience from a trackside seat offers depth and illumination to the sport he reported on so forensically for Fleet Steet’s finest – which shines through in his book.
The highly-respected journalist, who now writes for the Sunday Times, chronicles how ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone transformed F1 from the amateurism of its early years to the jamboree which Liberty Media forked out eight billion dollars for three years ago.
Eason adds colour and insight to story after in-depth interviews with the main protagonists – from Ecclestone and Max Mosley to Flavio Briatore and Ron Dennis and everyone in between.
For more than two decades he studied these characters – men in fast cars who safeguarded each other while wrangling over the untold riches flooding into the sport – that operated in the murky world of F1 where cash, fame and influence rules in the multi-billion pound circus.
With Stevenage’s Lewis Hamilton aiming to defend his title there is more than enough coverage of the Tewin racer for North Herts F1 fans – yet Eason has produced a magnificent tome worthy of being a best-seller and should be on every F1 fan’s wish list.
This vibrant and absorbing study of the bizarre, curious and remarkable motor sport is one that captures the imagination while delving into the eccentricities, idiosyncrasies and excesses of the people who moulded F1 – contrasting characters with a shared characteristic: racers who utterly driven.
‘Driven: The Men Who Made Formula One by Kevin Eason is now available in all good bookshops in hardback, audiobook and ebook. Published by Hodder & Stoughton.
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