Description

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F1 Mavericks is the story of the grandest, most influential, and most fondly remembered era in Formula 1 racing as seen through the lens of master motorsports photographer, Pete Biro.

The period from 1960 to 1982 saw the greatest technological changes in the history of Formula 1 racing: the transition from front engines to rear engines, narrow-treaded tires, massive racing slicks, zero downforce, and neck-wrenching ground effects—and, of course, a staggering increase in performance and reduction in lap times. In short, the period saw the creation of the modern Formula 1 car.

This is also the time when legendary names who defined F1 were out in full force: Jim Clark, Jack Brabham, Dan Gurney, Sir Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill, Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Bruce McLaren, Jody Scheckter. We’ll see and meet all of them. But F1 Mavericks also focuses on the designers and engineers behind the cars—men like Colin Chapman, Sir Patrick Head, Maurice Philippe, Franco Rochhi, Gordon Murray, and many others. We’ll hear directly from many of them, including a foreword from 1978 F1 World Champion, Mario Andretti.

Every chapter is a photographic account of key races throughout the period, supplemented with sidebars featuring key designers and technologies, like wings, ground effects, slick tires, turbochargers, and the Brabham “fan” suction car. F1 Mavericks is an international story, and includes loads of information on designs from Japan (Honda), Britain (McLaren, Tyrrell, Cooper, BRM) Italy (Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo), France (Matra, Ligier, Renault), Germany (Porsche, BMW) and the United States (Eagle, Shadow, Penske, Parnelli).

Strap yourself in for the story of the greatest era in Formula 1 racing—it's all here in F1 Mavericks.

About the Author

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Photographer Pete Biro began shooting motorsports in the 1950s, contributing to magazines such as Road & Track and Car and Driver. As his career progressed, his work found greater fame on the pages of outlets such as Time, LIFE, and Sports Illustrated, eventually garnering high-profile clients like the Big Three US automakers and Goodyear Tire. He followed the Can-Am series throughout its 1966 to 1974 glory years, becoming good friends with its top drivers, team owners, and engineers.

After a distinguished career as a motorsports author, speaker and historian, George Levy is now President of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, based at Daytona Beach, Florida. He began his journalism career in 1980 at Autoweek, where he rose to editor at 27. He has also contributed to RACER, Car and Driver and Vintage Motorsport. Latterly he has turned to writing books and is best known for Can-Am 50th Anniversary: Flat Out with North America’s Greatest Race Series (2016), which earned a Gold Medal in the 2017 International Automotive Media Competition, and F1 Mavericks: The Men and Machines that Revolutionized Formula 1 Racing (2019). He lives in Ormond Beach, Florida.

Mario Andretti is auto racing's definition of "Been There, Won That." His professional driving career spanned more than four decades and includes pit-stops as a Formula One driver (1978), an Indy 500 winner (1969), the Daytona 500 (1967), and four CART/USAC open-wheel racing national championships. Andretti has been called Mr. Versatile, known for driving everything from USAC sprint cars on the dirt to IndyCars, sports racing prototypes, and of course F1. He was Newman Haas Racing's first driver when the team was formed in 1982, raced there for 12 seasons, and is considered one of Paul Newman's closest friends.

Praise For…

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"...a ride that’s fast, accurate, and entertaining."—LACar.com

"The book’s afterword by the late champion Niki Lauda, which offers a blistering take on the current state of F1, is alone worth the price of admission."—Classic Motorsports

"F1 MAVERICKS is a book to savor page by page."

—SpeedReaders.info