![[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] April 5, 2025; Suzuka, JAPAN; Yuki Tsunoda during qualifying for the F1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Manami Yamada/Reuters via Imagn Images](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_2049,h_1152/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/514/01jrdfdg66zy8jssgv8s.jpg "[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] April 5, 2025; Suzuka, JAPAN; Yuki Tsunoda during qualifying for the F1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Manami Yamada/Reuters via Imagn Images")
I had to use a slightly different title, since the Formula 1 season is officially up and running. But the idea is still the same! F1 is a fascinating sport with a great deal of history, development, technology, and personnel, with so much to come moving forward. I always enjoy learning more about the sport, and providing recommendations for others. There are four parts in this series that don't need to be read in any particular order.
The Grand Prix Year: An Insider's Guide to Formula 1 Racing by Phillip Horton
The Grand Prix Year takes the reader through the Formula 1 calendar. There are 24 races in 2025, each of which contains its own history, conditions, and relationship to the sport. It provides a nice glimpse and overview of the races and circuits that are not only relevant to this year, but to the background, popularity, and direction of the sport. It's informative, provides detailed information, insights from drivers, and captures the allure and global nature of the sport.
Forza Ferrari: How F1's Most Famous Team Can Win Again by Nate Suanders
Similarly to Growing Wings for Red Bull and Inside Mercedes F for Mercedes1, Forza Ferrari provides an inside look into another top team. Using first hand accounts, interviews, and events, Saunders pieces together the picture of Ferrari over the last 30 years in particular: It takes the audience through the highs of the Schumacher era to the lows of several near misses in the 2010s. This isn't necessarily an overview of the history of the team, more so the relevant pieces of its history that have gotten them to their current point and where they can go from here.
Guenther Steiner
If you're familiar with the F1 paddock, particularly Drive to Survive, then you likely have heard of Guenther Steiner. He is the former team principal of the Haas F1 team, and rose to popularity through his funny and honest personality in the hit show. Steiner has written two books about his time in Formula 1, and each provides an interesting insight into the sport.
Surviving to Drive was written as a diaristic journey of the 2022 Formula 1 season. Steiner takes the audience through the entire year of racing. The novel exhibits Steiner's personality through his emphasis on humor and honesty. It also provides an inside look into the F1 2022 season, the challenges, obstacles, triumphs, camaraderie, and standouts of running a Formula 1 team, and the balance of work and life outside of the racetrack. His second book, Unfiltered, was announced in 2024 after Steiner was announced to be leaving the Haas team after around 8 years. This novel depicts Steiner's career in F1 dating back to the idea of running a team. It's insightful into the process of starting a team, and the work it takes to secure licenses, backers, contacts, etc. Both of Steiner's books are great if you're interested in the behind-the-scenes of F1 teams and the role of a team principal.