40 ways to survive the off season p3/4

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F1 cars on display at Autosport International

Here are ten more ways to ease your F1 withdrawal between now and March.

21 – Go to Autosport International

For me the new motor racing season begins with a red-eyed train journey from London to Birmingham for the annual Autosport International show. It was at such a show that, aged eight, I met Murray Walker and got my first glimpse of an F1 car in the flesh.

It doesn’t fill me with quite the same excitement these days – but there’s always that tingle of anticipation that the off-season is half done and a new year’s racing is in sight.

Read an F1 book

I usually make my return journey from Autosport International groaning under the weight of several F1 books I couldn’t bear the leave un-bought. Here are seven ideas for books to tackle over the winter.

22 – David Coulthard: It is what it is

With Coulthard leaving Formula 1 now’s the perfect time to read his thoughts on his career: warts, McLaren politics and all.

Read the full review: "It is what it is – the autobiography" (David Coulthard 2007)
Buy the book: It Is What It Is: The Autobiography

23 – Michael Schumacher: The Edge of Genius

Definitely one of the best Michael Schumacher books. James Allen may not be well-liked for his commentaries but this book has earned justified praise.

Read the full review: "Michael Schumacher: The edge of greatness" (James Allen, 2007)
Buy the book: Michael Schumacher: The Edge of Greatness

24 – Lewis Hamilton: The Full Story

Thankfully Lewis Hamilton’s world championship victory has not been accompanied by another rash of early biographies. This book (rather than the dreary official autobiography) is the best way to trace his steps from racing radio controlled cars in Stevenage to last year’s title near-miss, including those early karting rivalries with Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg.

Read the full review: "Lewis Hamilton : The Full Story " (Mark Hughes, 2007)
Buy the book: Lewis Hamilton: The Full Story

25 – Analysing Formula 1

Stats fans can get their fill here. The history of Formula 1 taken apart from every conceivable statistical angle: how close the qualifying laps were, geographical spread of the races, which season had the most drivers?óÔé¼?ª Exhaustive but fun in an anorak-y sort of way.

Read the full review: Analysing Formula 1 (Roger Smith)
Buy the book: Analysing Formula 1: Innovative insights into winners and winning in Grand Prix racing since 1950

26 – Grand Prix Century

If you fancy a challenge, Christopher Hilton’s 100 years of Grand Prix history in 496 pages is worth a look. I won’t pretend it’s a favourite of mine, but for a potted history that covers the entire breadth of Grand Prix racing it’s a good starting point.

Read the full review: "Grand Prix Century"?é?Ø (Christopher Hilton, 2005)
Buy the book: Grand Prix Century: The First 100 Years of the World’s Most Glamorous and Dangerous Sport

27 – Jackie Stewart: Winning is Not Enough

Unless you’re a very quick reader this hefty book will last you a couple of days – and then there’s the DVD to watch as well. It’s rich with interesting stories from Stewart’s remarkable life.

Read the full review: "Winning is not enough: the autobiography" (Jackie Stewart, 2007 …
Buy the book: Winning Is Not Enough: The Autobiography

28 – Jo Ramirez – Memoirs of a Racing Man

As you’d expect from a man who worked with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost during the ‘war’ years, Emerson Fittipaldi at his brother’s team, and more, Ramirez has a heck of a tale to tell. He has a few words for Ron Dennis as well?óÔé¼?ª

Read the full review: not reviewed
Buy the book: Jo Ramirez: Memoirs of a Racing Man

And if you happen to have read all of those, there’s a string of new book reviews coming up next week.

29 – Suggest an article for F1 Fanatic

During the off-season I’ll be working my way through many of the excellent article ideas suggested on Skribit. If you’ve got an idea for an article you’d like to see, post it in the Skribit box in the centre column.

You could also offer to write a guest article – here’s some more information.

30 – Help improve F1 Fanatic

Another task I’ve got for the off-season is making technical improvements to the site. If you’ve got some tech knowledge and world like to help, here are some threads on the forum where you can lend a hand:

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40 ways to survive the off-season

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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9 comments on “40 ways to survive the off season p3/4”

  1. Terry Fabulous
    8th November 2008, 10:28

    Michael Schumacher the Edge of Greatness.

    Is an excellent read. It was my book of preference to read on my honeymoon last month (sigh) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It left me feeling that I better understood Schumi and had a greater appreciation of the man.

  2. Recommend a web hosting company

    anyone but mediatemple. seriously, they’re useless.

    also, avoid any and all british hosting companies.

  3. Thanks Sidey – I was starting to come to that conclusion about UK-based companies. A poor state of affairs.

  4. Thanks Sidey – I was starting to come to that conclusion about UK-based companies. A poor state of affairs.

    yell if you find anywhere though. we need to move spc away from #mt before next season.

    we’re testing out f1m on slicehost.com, they’re good but geeky.

  5. Keith,

    Please post the driver rankings soon. I have been waiting for that as soon as Lewis won the championship.

  6. Sumedh – the 08 review starts here next week, and the driver rankings will be up later the following week. I wanted to take time to give it plenty of thought and read everyone else’s opinions on the forum:

    2008 final driver rankings (forum)

    Glad you’re looking forward to them!

  7. What about user created articles?

  8. Despite watching old grands prix on the internet, going to a museam related to motorsport is a good idea, or a racetrack itself. I went to Daytona today and nosed around the exhibit there, but I am desperate to find out if there is a good Formula One museam in the US. Any advice guys?

Comments are closed.