automotive

This is an amazing work, even if it does not give the specific information that Ferrari has used to outclass their competition. There is not another work giving the specific details of a Formula 1 racer since Bamsey's review of the MP4/4. The details include a vast amount of information that teams never release, such as engine dimensions, and clearly shows why it took so long to produce! I have a new volume to proudly display in my collection of works on Formula 1.

For anyone who has read the classic Pomeroy series 'Grand Prix Cars', this book will be a disappointment. Pomeroy set the standard by describing what made each particular winning car successful. Whether it be dual the overhead camshaft engine in the 1912 Peugot or the extremely light ladder frame and nitro-benzene powered engine of the 1934 Mercedes. Each of these chapters gave the reader a thorough understanding of what secret breakthrough made the car quickest.

None of that is in this book. Systems described in detail are those that are the norm for F1 design. There are several areas where Wright states explicitly that he isn't allowed to describe the unique 'secret' aspects of the Ferrari that set it above its competition. Without that insight, this is nothing more than a pretty photo album.

I have been watching F1 for over a decade from the electro-pneumatic cars that Nigel Mansell said could drive themselves through last year's nearly close finish. When the GP came to Phoenix for three years I was there every time and it was an experience unlike any other.

In the last year, the pits were opened to the public on Thursday and walking through them was about the only thing I can compare to this book. Of course that was 10 year old technology, but lifting up a wheel and tire with the effort you think it requires and nearly flinging it over your head because it's so light, is the same shock this book gives you with its details.

My favorite section is on the engine. Here the drawings and explanations are unbelievable. How it all works, individual components laid out, even dyno charts. Same for the other sections like transmission, suspension and aerodynamics. How Ferrari operates as a team is also presented and laid down as perhaps its biggest edge.

If you're thinking this is just another Ferrari PR book, you're right. But no one has the track record and history Ferrari does in F1. They were also nothing special in the 80s and early 90s so some respect is due for how hard they worked to get to this level. The book gives details that only an employee might gain access to. It's no wonder Ferrari made the author wait four years to publish it.

I give it five stars only because it has no current peer. If you like F1 and you want to know about the technical side, there is nothing to compare.