Maurice Hamilton

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Bask in Formula One glory with this 75th Anniversary edition of The Champions, featuring exhilarating photography and expert commentary.

Since the Grand Prix’s start in 1950, just 34 men have achieved the accolade of F1 World Champion. For the first time, legendary F1 commentator Maurice Hamilton and award-winning photographers Bernard and Paul-Henri Cahier bring the heroes of this iconic sport together, in a stunning photographic portrayal of the show more poise, skill and winning mindset that separates the fast from the furious, the elite from the talented.

Formula One and its champions are brought to life

An exquisitely written profile of each of the 34 F1 World Champions, with key details from the driver’s life and F1 career

Stunning photography of the drivers and their cars, both on and off the track

Historic interviews with the sport’s lost heroes, including James Hunt and Ayrton Senna

Exclusive quotes from icons such as Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg

A brand new foreword by Damon Hill, former F1 World Champion.

Debate has raged over which driver is the best of the best. It is impossible to say. But that will not deter energetic and informed discussion, usually predicated on a personal preference swayed by affection. Each of these champions will have experienced and delivered pulse-raising performances many times over.

Fully revised and updated for the 75th Anniversary and with a new foreword by F1 legend Damon Hill, this handsome homage to the most ferocious of sports and the incredible sportsmen who drive at the edge in pursuit of greatness, it is time to choose your favorite F1 Champion.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Formula One and my oldest sister are the same age!

I need a lie-down.

This sport has become far more visible in the US during the 2020s, with Netflix shows and social media chatter...but anyone who read Autoweek (me) knew of its stars, its dramas, and the like from the day Denise McCluggage started the magazine. I recognized some names:



...from days of yore. Quite a lot of modern Formula One has changed with the unbelievable sprint to the future its technology has made over the decades. Things once deemed impossible, personal endurance feats, longevity of components, speeds attained...all have occurred because the sport is so hugely popular in most of the world that the money's been there to support it.

Among the modern era's amazing drivers is the legendary Max Verstappen, all of 28 years old, who's won 71 Grands Prix across 11 seasons.



A book like this is a shoo-in to be your racing enthusiast giftee's most favorite object ever. It's well worth the price, featuring as it does some of the most remarkable sports/action photography by the father/son duo the Cahiers, whose racing photography resides in their still-privately-owned archive. It is hard to imagine anyone looking at their images...the father's more reportage, the son's clearly artistic...and not feel their pulse rate increase from the immediacy and the velocity each image coonveys. I can't picture (!) F1 racing except through their images.

Certainly reserved for a very special someone at this price, the book is something I think will be a life-long treasure for its recipient. show less

While I was aware of the trauma and drama of 1976 F1 season (as excellently portrayed in the movie RUSH.) it was until Lauda’s second stint in F1 during the 80s that I began to appreciate him as a driver. During my time in the aerospace industry his determination to build Lauda Air and his battle with Boeing over their role in the crash of one of his aircraft were as legendary as his on-track exploits. This new excellent biography written after his passing last year focuses on the show more character of the man and his career rather than delving into his personal life. Lauda always said he had no friends, but the extensive interviews and insights presented here show that he was admired and loved across generations. show less

Murray Walker, the legendary F1 commentator, died in March of 2021. This books functions as a remembrance of a man who was for over half a century intricately associated with the sport. Told in chronological order, there is nothing much in here I didn't already know the outline of, but it was good to hear the tales from a variety of voices and to have some of his commentary transcribed. I met him once, at a book signing, I admit to being utterly tongue tied.

I've been hearing about Formula 1 since I was a kid. When I was 18, I wrote Jerry Seinfeld a letter (on beautiful original artwork I might add) to bring me and my friend Kelly to the F1 race at Monaco that season. Not only did he not bring me, he didn't even write back! This put me off F1 for more than a decade, until I came across "Drive to Survive" on Netflix a few months ago and watched the first four seasons.

Years ago I watched the film on Senna. But in watching this new series, I show more learned of a new F1 legend—Niki Lauda. He sounded fascinating, and looked like Palpatine in "Star Wars." That is how I learned of this book, and decided to pick up a copy.

If you have an interest in Formula 1, I think you'll find this biography entertaining and engaging. It covers Lauda's career—from using debt to buy racing seats, to his winning his first world championship with Ferrari in '75, to crashing at Nürburgring in '76 and coming very close to death, to winning again in '77, to retiring, to coming back with McLaren and winning again in '84, to go on to run an airline, dealing with a disaster there, to giving the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team to a streak of eight constructor's championship titles, to his death at 70.

The biography does not share much about Lauda's childhood, nor does it share much about his personal life (romance, family, etc.). It also doesn't highlight any dissenting views on Luada's character, etc. show less