Formula One: The Champions 75 years of legendary F1 drivers

by Hamilton, Maurice; Cahier, Bernard; Cahier, Paul-Henri; Hill, Damon

• ISBN13: 9781836005650
• ISBN10: 1836005652
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2025-09-02
• Publisher: Ivy Press

Summary

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 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 with:

• 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, with 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 favourite F1 Champion.

Author Biography

Maurice Hamilton has been part of the Formula One scene since 1977 and was the Observer’s motor racing correspondent for 20 years. He has written more than 20 books as well as commentating on Formula One for BBC Radio. He is now actively involved with the online community on Twitter and writes several blogs whilst continuing to write books about racing. 

Once described as the ‘Cartier-Bresson of Motor Racing’ due to his uncanny ability to capture key moments, Bernard Cahier was a renowned photo-journalist. Starting in 1952, he covered both F1 and sports car races for innumerable magazines around the world and sometimes even raced himself, notably at Sebring and in the Targa Florio. He founded the IRPA (International Racing Press Association) in 1968 and remained its president until his retirement in 1985.The Cahier Archive is the only photographic collection covering the history of the Formula One Championship to have remained in the hands of its original authors. Two photographers have built this archive: Bernard Cahier and his son Paul-Henri, giving the collection two very different styles. Bernard was a reporter and had the gift to make people truly live events through his pictures. Paul-Henri, on the other hand, has always leaned towards an artistic approach to photography. The common ground of their photos though, is that they always go beyond the illustrative dimension.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Dr Giuseppe 'Nino' Farina 

Juan Manuel Fangio

Alberto Ascari 

Mike Hawthorn 

Sir Jack Brabham 

Phil Hill 

Graham Hill 

Jim Clark 

John Surtees 

Denis 'Denny' Hulme 

Sir Jackie Stewart 

Jochen Rindt 

Emerson Fittipaldi 

Niki Lauda

James Hunt

Mario Andretti

Jody Scheckter

Alan Jones

Nelson Piquet

Keke Rosberg

Alain Prost 

Ayrton Senna 

Nigel Mansell

Michael Schumacher

Damon Hill

Jacques Villeneuve

Mika Häkkinen

Fernando Alonso

Kimi Räikkönen

Lewis Hamilton 

Jenson Button

Sebastian Vettel

Nico Rosberg

Max Verstappen

Index

Acknowledgements