Formula One is a saga of ecstacy and agony — of the absolute joy of winning, and of tragedy, fury, crushing disappointment. It includes the heroic losers as well as those who achieved motorsport’s premier accolade. The saga embraces the moody, enigmatic Farina, the grace of Fangio, the precision of Prost, the mythology of Lauda, the focus of Hunt and Hamilton, the bravery of Mansell and the dignity of the Hills. And it is haunted still by the mysterious gifts of Clark and Senna.

Grand Prix Showdown — Christopher Hilton (2009)

These are stories of classic drives, not classic cars, of races won by drivers on rare talent alone, not by men in superior cars, but by men against superior cars which made their task look impossible.

Ayrton Senna: A Tribute — Ivan Rendall (1994)

Sky-high technology and canyon-deep subterfuge make Formula One racing unique, which is why the argument is sometimes advanced that it’s not a sport as much as an engineering exercise, a global marketing program and a cutthroat business affecting and reflecting the economic strength of entire countries.

“Still Head Of the Class:” Sports Illustrated — Sam Moses (1991)

You need to know Spa to savour Senna, the steepness of the descent to Eau Rouge, the strange ferocity of the left-right kink at the bottom; you need to know that Eau Rouge is to be taken at high speed, flat out, balls to the wall.

Ayrton Senna: The Hard Edge of Genius — Christopher Hilton (1994)

Most drivers go trundling along in the belief that they are the best in the world. Then suddenly one day you have to accept that someone is blowing your doors off. It’s a mind game. There are no bad drivers, there are no idiots, because you cannot drive those cars unless you are supremely skilled. They’re all quick. It’s just that some are quicker than others.

Martin Brundle (2007)

During the three days of a Grand Prix weekend, the human capacity for excellence, for ingenuity, for callousness, for vulgarity, for sheer noise, for waste, for drink, for beauty — those capacities are stretched just as far as they can go. Except for war.

Champions Forever: The Quick And the Dead — Claude du Boc (1980)

Grand Prix motor racing can never be safe. It has survived great change, feasts and famine, with admirable versatility. It has had many contemporary caretakers over the years, but the sport is still here to tell its tale and will be for the foreseeable future. Long live Grand Prix motor racing!

Jackie Stewart (1994)

There is a fundamental difference between F1 up to the mid-1980s and everything after. Before it, cars were too fragile to allow bumping and barging; drivers were gentlemanly not least because the alternative was much, much worse. . . . It is no use mourning the innocence of days gone by. Every era in Formula 1 is hard; all you can say is that Michael Schumacher drove at a time when F1 was hard in a way it hadn’t ever been before.

Michael Schumacher: The Whole Story — Christopher Hilton (2007)

Motor racing is dangerous, by definition. Motor racing is exciting. Motor racing is a sport that brings people to the limit: men and machine. It must be seen as that. And people that are on the limit, equipment that is on the limit, are bound to go wrong from time to time. That must be taken into consideration as part of the game.

Ayrton Senna (1993)

Fangio is on a level much higher than I see myself. What he did stands alone. I have such respect for what he achieved. You can’t take a personality like Fangio and compare him with what has happened today. There is not even the slightest comparison.

Michael Schumacher (2007)

Cornering is like bringing a woman to climax… [But] that was a time when motor racing was really dangerous and sex was safe.

Jackie Stewart (2013)

Qualifying is very intense. The pressure is at the utmost. The car is light; the fastest you get to drive at any point in any weekend. You go out and have one lap to perfect and deliver. It’s the ultimate performance, all coming down to that one moment and the decisions you make. And I love it.

— Lewis Hamilton (2017) —

For such a macho pasttime, Formula One can be quite hysterical, fractious and queeny. Any change to the rules is persistently met with cries and complaints and threats to abandon the sport. Teams run out of cash and have to be bailed out or just fold, leaving an ugly gap in the grid… But when the money flows again, everyone buys themselves a motorhome the size of a department store.

Burning Rubber: The Extraordinary Story of Formula One — Charles Jennings (2011)

Being out on the first lap in a race it’s the worst feeling; especially when it’s a night race, you’re up all day waiting for those two hours and after two minutes, it’s all over. The sport can rip your heart out from your you know what. It’s brutal sometimes.

Daniel Ricciardo (2018)