The Formula

F1 is now the fastest-growing sports business in the world, and a multi-billion-dollar global media juggernaut. But how exactly did it get there?

Highly respected Wall Street Journal reporters Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg uncover the full epic story of how F1 came to achieve total global fandom. Bringing unique insight and access to the sport's most storied teams and personalities - from Ferrari to Bernie Ecclestone to Christian Horner, Daniel Ricciardo, and Lewis Hamilton - they delve into the world of big money, beautiful people, intense feuds and audacious gambles, all set across a backdrop of the world's most glamorous locations.

The result is the first definitive account of the business of F1 - not just the cars and the races, but the drama, the deals, and the financial operation that underpins it all. It's the tale of a commercial empire: one built in the 20th century, rendered almost obsolete in the early 21st, and that has re-emerged world dominant today.

Review

A stunningly researched and comprehensive work of business reportage that somehow reads like a novel, The Formula is a lively hot lap through the untold history and explosive growth of the most glamorous, spectacular, and sordid global sport of them all. With all of the juicy background and context about Formula 1 that you won't see on Netflix, this is hands down the greatest, most definitive book ever written about F1. A sweeping sports story for the ages. ― Sam Walker, author of The Captain Class

No one explains exactly what's happening in global sports like the duo of Clegg and Robinson. They've done it again with The Formula, a fascinating account of how F1 exploded in the Netflix age. Modern F1 is the sports story of this era, and no one could tell it better. In a book about racing geniuses, no one is better at their craft than the storytellers themselves. ― Kevin Clark, ESPN and Omaha Productions

The fastest read you will ever pick up. The Formula brings you inside the furious present and sometimes bizarre past of the world's richest, most technologically advanced form of sport. Even if you don't know how to drive, you should read this book. ― A.J. Baime, bestselling author of Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans

A thrill for fans of F1, and a fine example of fluid sports writing ― Kirkus

Deep and intelligent...a portrait of football greatness. ― Arsène Wenger on Messi vs. Ronaldo

A comprehensive primer into the entwined histories of the two titans and the commercial forces that have molded their careers and, by extension, the sport. ― New York Times on Messi vs. Ronaldo

While these two soaring greats are known for their transcendent wonder on the field, this rollicking narrative plunges into the complex backstories and entire ecosystems that propelled their colliding trajectories. With a pair of epic hero stories like The Last Dance or Homer's Odyssey in cleats, this book traces the journey from aspirational prodigies to global commercial billboards, explaining how these two juggernauts and their rivalry shaped the most popular, and lucrative, era of the world's most beloved sport. ― Roger Bennett, founder, Men in Blazers Media Network, on Messi vs. Ronaldo

This rigorously researched book avoids becoming hagiography. The result is an ambitious and valuable study for all those who want to understand the modern world of football that Mr. Messi and Mr. Ronaldo have helped forge. ― The Economist on Messi vs. Ronaldo

This book explains the brilliant backstory behind how each player became a start and how that stardom changed the footballing landscape not just in Spain but in the wider world as well...I read it in a day. ― Rebecca Lowe, NBC Sports, on Messi vs. Ronaldo

[An] exceptional account of an intense sport . . . The authors go beyond the adrenaline-drenched action of the racetracks in portraying the progression of Formula One. ― BOOKLIST

Brilliantly executed... -- Matt Kew ― Autosport Magazine

About the Author

Joshua Robinson is the European sports correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, and has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post and Sports Illustrated.

Jonathan Clegg is an editor for The Wall Street Journal, his work has also appeared in the Daily Telegraph, the Independent, and FourFourTwo magazine.