If you’ve been waiting for Formula 1 books by paddock pundits they’ve arrived like proverbial buses: Ted Kravitz’s “F1 Insider” joins Alex Jacques’ “75 Milestone Formula One Moments”, reviewed here two weeks ago.

Why has Kravitz chosen to produce his first book now? “There’s no point writing a book after 12 years, you haven’t got anything to say,” he explained in a recent interview. “You’ve got to do 30 years in the business before you have something to say.” That may not have been a dig at his F1 TV rival’s coincidentally-timed book but it certainly sounds like one.

Regardless, he has a point: Kravitz’s personal account of his time in the paddock is immediately a more engaging proposition than Jacques’ well-researched but somewhat random retelling of F1 history.

Kravitz is almost as familiar a sight to British television viewers as Martin Brundle, having first appeared on screen as an F1 reporter after ITV took over the UK broadcasting rights in 1997. He is a well-liked part of Sky’s coverage team, partly for his eccentric style which comes across best in his unique post-race ‘notebook’ features.

He is also less prone to hype and more inclined to give an unvarnished account of the paddock goings-on than those he shares the screen with. That comes across especially well in his highly readable memoir.

Viewed from the perspective of 2025, his account of how he made his way into F1 broadcasting is a fascinating glimpse back into a lost, pre-social media world. However the vast majority of the book is given over to what most readers will be looking for: behind-the-scenes tales of his time covering the likes of Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari world championships, the rise of Lewis Hamilton and all the dramas along the way – Crashgate, Covid-19, Abu Dhabi ’21 and more.

These are by far the most enjoyable parts of the book, though at times you need to wade through a bit of scene-setting and background context to get there. It goes without saying that his grasp of the finer details of the races and events that shaped them is first-rate.

The result is an engaging account of recent F1 history through the eyes of someone who saw it up close and was usually among the first to shove a microphone beneath nose of those involved. Any F1 fan will find plenty here to inform and entertain.

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Rating four out of five

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“F1 Insider” by Ted Kravitz

Author: Ted Kravitz
Publisher: Hachette
Published: 2025
Pages: 345
Price: £22
ISBN: 9781788405720

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