These hinterland days between Christmas and New Year are a great time for a bit of self-indulgence. And if you’ve just been given some Amazon vouchers (other companies are available, apparently), here are a few ideas for you to consider treating yourself to.
50 Years with Ferraris, EVRO, £45
Photographer Neill Bruce hit the career jackpot by spending a lifetime working with Maranello Concessionaires. It meant he got access to some of the most fabulous automotive creations of all time and a ton of great anecdotes to go with them.
While naturally the pics are the star, the stories behind the shoots, the little insights into a world unimaginable in today’s ‘always on’ digital landscape, are what makes it stand out. It’s hard not to have a pang of accompanying jealousy to go with the escapism that follows almost every page.
100 Years of Legends, EVRO, £70
The official celebration of the Le Mans 24 Hours attempts the impossible: condensing the history of the great race into a ‘mere’ 336 glossy pages.
To accomplish this, everything has been broken down into digestible chunks, which are supported with some fabulous images and well-designed graphics. The depth of information that is here is comprehensive, but possibly too superficial for hardcore devotees.
Because of the modular way it’s been constructed, it feels more like an incredibly high-end magazine than a coffee table book. As a result, it’s more suitable for new fans of the genre, who will get a superb grounding into one of motorsport’s blue riband events, and the springboard from which to delve into more specialist material.
Tyrrell, EVRO, £67
The Story of the Tyrrell Racing Organisation is a passion project by author Richard Jenkins, and his unfaltering enthusiasm for the subject matter shines through in this must-have book for all fans of ‘Uncle Ken’s’ team.
For those who were there when the ultimate ‘garagista’ ran a team from a woodshed and conquered the world, this is a beautiful trip down memory lane. For newer fans of the sport, this is a superb insight into a time when teams could conceive of genuinely radical concepts like six-wheeled cars, and the whole outfit consisted of fewer people than take part in a modern-day F1 pitstop.
There’s some brilliantly researched personal pictures and early sketches, and while it’s not cheap, it’s hard to imagine anyone creating a more definitive insight into one of F1’s most beloved teams.
Starting from the Back of the Grid: Misadventures Inside Formula One's Flying Circus, Amazon £20.29
By Kris Henley and Ian Henley
Most autobiographical Formula 1 books are weighty and serious endeavours, in the mind of their authors if not always in execution, but this is an exception.
You won’t have heard of Kris Henley, whose story this is written along with brother Ian, but he’s spent almost three decades in F1 as a TV producer.
The misadventures in the title gives you a clue as to the tone, as Kris doesn’t take his story remotely seriously. That makes it an entertaining read, but it’s also a well-structured and interesting story that offers insight into the F1 world, TV production of the sport and the bizarre, itinerant route Henley took to getting into this career as his personal story is at the heart of the book.
Read this for a very different, and entertaining, perspective of F1.
F1 23
It's a predictable suggestion for any Formula 1 fan but F1 23 offers a bit more than the F1 games usually do as EA Sports and Codemasters brought back the Braking Point story mode. Following on from the plot which started in F1 2021, this new story spans the 2022 and 2023 seasons following the fictional Konnersport team and their trials and tribulations in F1.
Of course there’s also the traditional career mode and multiplayer options if you’re looking for some fun with friends over the holiday.
F1 Manager 2023
Reckon you could knock Red Bull off the top spot, or perhaps turn them into an even more dominant entity? Maybe you just want to see how Formula 1 could pan out years into the future, if so then you’ll want to get F1 Manager 2023.
Signing drivers, designing new parts and managing race strategies are all responsibilities for those who want a more hands-on F1 fix during the off-season.
