Not a book for the technical expert but rather for the everyman.
Feature image credit: Simon & Schuster
Luke Smith is a journalist who has covered Formula 1 races all over the world for The Athletic, The New York Times, and NBC Sports. With the recent explosion in popularity of Formula 1, mainly attributable to the Netflix series Drive To Survive, he has written a handy book to introduce people to the fast, exciting, and sometimes strange world of Formula 1 Racing.
Casual fans of Formula 1 may be forgiven for not recognising Mr Smith, whose profile is larger in the UK. To sort this out, he establishes his bona fides as an insider in the sport in the first chapter, taking us within the confines of the hospitality unit of Team Haas, where he interviews Gunter Steiner (then Haas team principal) who gives us an excellent overview of Formula 1 today: As he explains, it is partly a sport but mostly a business, albeit a business whose fortunes run on chance. In no other realm of corporate endeavour are fortunes won and lost so readily on a broken part here, or a broken driver there.
The book investigates various aspects of a sport that can, for all the media circus surrounding it, seem baffling to a newcomer. True to its byline, Smith takes us behind the scenes, exploring such varied subjects as sportswashing, the champagne used on the podium, the various tracks used around the world, and why, even after 75 years, the sport remains a billionaire boy’s club. This is not some dry tome for the geekiest of technical experts. Within its pages the reader will not find reams of technical specifications, lists of previous race winners, nor even a roll-call of world champions. Instead they will find explanations: why Formula 1 works the way it does. Smith talks to the people who are there right now, not some crusty old bloke who was there in the 1960s. Those people have their place, for sure, but not in this book.
This is a thoroughly modern book and its modernity may ruffle some feathers. Being written for fans of Formula 1 post-Drive To Survive, more established fans may find themselves feeling left out. Smith spends a chapter on podium etiquette, for example, telling us all about Lando Norris’ odd habit of popping champagne corks by bumping the bottle on the ground but not a word is said about Daniel Ricciardo’s shoeys. The book may even (it might be argued) be another symptom of the current problems of Formula 1. The phenomenal global interest in the Drive To Survive Netflix series has led to soaring interest in Formula 1, which has in turn led to higher ticket prices, higher merchandise prices and, ultimately, disenfranchised existing fans.
The book stays away from this subject, but Smith is not afraid to tackle other controversies from the racing world. Sportswashing, which Formula 1 is often accused of, is covered, as is the elitist nature of the sport, the lack of female representation, and the sport’s environmental impact. One of the book’s great strengths is the way it shows that far from shying away from all of these things, Formula 1 is trying to address them, through better scheduling of races, the use of biofuels to lower its carbon footprint, and the efforts of the drivers to educate wherever they go.
On The Grid is not a book for the technical expert but rather it is for the everyman, preferably a newcomer to the world of Formula 1.
Reviewed by D C White
The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.
Distributed by: Simon & Schuster
Released: February 2025
RRP: $34.99
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