Burning Rubber

Charles Jennings has written extensively for the national press, television and radio. He is the author of several critically acclaimed books including Up North and The Fast Set: Three Extraordinary Men and Their Race For The Land Speed Record. He is married, with two children, and lives in London.

Introduction. Clinging like one of the damned to the wheel of a Mercedes W125. 'None of us has lost faith in the car in any way.' El Chueco. Drilling holes in the bodywork to let the rain in. 'I believe on that day I finally managed to master it.' 'My God, Hawthorn - what are we going to do with you?' Garagista. 'Fortunately I was in my underpants at the time.' His smiling exploiter. 'We'd like to race around Hyde Park.' Spanish Grand Prix, Jarama, 12 May 1968. 'It's going to break.' The first Brazilian. Formula One Constructors, 1965-1975. 'I did not know in which direction the car was travelling.' 'A bloody great vacuum cleaner.' It seemed as if you couldn't lose. Two gorillas and a professor. 'It was the smile which made you melt. It was devastating.' Gilles Villeneuve, 8 May 1982. 'I am supposed to be a lunatic, a dangerous man.' The keepers of the flame. 'The quality that is most truly British is his bloody-mindedness.' Ayrton Senna, 1 May 1994. Dragging a sled across the Arctic ice. Does any of it make sense? 'They all want to work for Schumacher.' 'First you get on, then you get rich, then you get honest.' 'We are in Formula One to stay.' 'Will will see.' Appendix I: Grand Prix Championships. Appendix II: Top Twenty-six Grand Prix Drivers by Races Won. Bibliography. Index.