Life in the Fast Lane: The Inside Story of Benetton's First World Championship [Paperback]

Steve Matchett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2002

Steve Matchett was a member of Benetton's highly successful Grand Prix team, and here he tells the extraordinary story of the momentous 1994 season. Matchett writes about the death of Ayrton Senna, the Hockenheim fire, disqualifications - as the Benetton and Williams teams fought tooth and nail for the drivers championship. The final showdown came in Adelaide, the last race of the season, with the controversial accident when Schumacher of Benetton and Hill of Williams collided. Steve Matchett was the rear jack man in the Benetton pit lane team, and was himself engulfed in the terrible fire at Hockenheim. His story of the frantic and unending behind-the-scenes activity in the effort to be the fastest and the best in the world is a fascinating account of the high pressure world of Formula One motor racing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Orion (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752844474
• ISBN-13: 978-0752844473
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,187,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great inside view of a F1 team..., January 8, 2003

By 

Jared M (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life in the Fast Lane: The Inside Story of Benetton's First World Championship (Paperback)

Steve Matchett, the author of this book, is if you did'nt know, a mechanic. Not only is he a mechanic, he is a mechanic for the Benetton Formula One team. A mechanic writing a book is a rarity indeed, which makes "Life in the Fast Lane" very special. Matchett, thankfully, also is a good writer (or maybe he had a good editor), and he has a great story to tell about his experiences in Formula One.

Basically covering the 1994 Championship winning season, the book runs through all the rounds of the Championship from Brazil to Australia. Benetton had a particularly turbulent season, as there was a lot of pressure on the team, what with being Championship contenders, the lauch control affair, Senna's death, the fuel fire in Germany (Matchett was the guy on the rear jack), the fuel filter affair, and Schumacher's collision with Hill at Adelaide. All these are in the book, and Matchett gives his (or Benetton's) side of the story.

Matchett has done extremely well with this book by choosing to present his tale in a personal way. You learn about how he has his coffee, how he did the decor in his cottage. You also learn about the struggles of an F1 mechanic for the Benetton Formula One team. The early morning starts, the late nighters, the trials and tribulations of travelling across the world to 15, 16 different countries is related very well in an easy to read style. There many little interesting tidbits that Matchett tells us about; Michele Alboreto coming in for a seat fitting for the Benetton as an outside candidate for the vacant number 2 seat prior to the start of the season. His tales of nights out with fellow mechanics. His desire for "his" driver to well; Matchett was mechanic for Jos Verstappen, JJ Lehto, and finally Johnny Herbert during the season. If there is a downside to the story, it is that Matchett can say no wrong of anyone in the team. However, he did have to continue to work with the team after finishing his book, so I cut him a little slack on that one.

All this makes for a captivating read. A recommended read, and if you like this book, you should try the follow up book "A Mechanic's Tale", which covers the other years in Matchett's career with the team before he quit in 1997.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Want to live on the fast Lane read this, March 27, 2004

By 

K. Chan - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Life in the Fast Lane: The Inside Story of Benetton's First World Championship (Paperback)

If you're a fan of Michael Schumacher this book is for you, if you're a fan of Jos Verstappen this iz your book. This is a very very good book, reading through it you'd feel like you're actually working for that Benetton team as a jackman. It gives you the deatils of tragic and triumphant year of the 1994 season and plus theres a lot of stunning photos from 1994, its very rare to find such photos, its very historic, I am telling you buy this, its a must for every F1, M Schumacher, J Verstappen and Benetton fan.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Speed Channel F1 announcer's 1994 year journal and what a year it was!, August 30, 2005

By 

David S. White - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life in the Fast Lane: The Inside Story of Benetton's First World Championship (Paperback)

Steve Matchett, commentator on Speed Channel's F1 coverage, had another life as an F1 mechanic on the Benneton team which won the driver's championship (Schuey's first) and lost the constructor's championship by one point in 1994. This remarkably readable book was a page-turner for me; I read almost straight through it. Steve gives us his uncensored journal of the events of the 1994 F1 season, which included Senna's tragic death (and Ratzenberger's), the Hockenheim pit fire and Michael Schumacher's first world championship (he wrote a short foreward). The book is well-written and extremely informative if you have an interest in the highest technology motor sports on the planet. I really enjoyed it and am now reading both of his other books. A must-read for F1 nuts!