The Chariot Makers: Assembling the Perfect Formula 1 Car (Hardcover)

~ Steve Matchett (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fluent, often entertaining" SUNDAY TIMES SPORT "Formula One's just kicked off and here's about the best mood-setter for it there's been for a good many years. This highly original piece of work does exactly what it says it will. And very well too." LADSMAG "A good idea, well done." MOTORSPORT "A loving, detailed account of F1's greatest achievements." ZOO WEEKLY "Steve Matchett is one of the best writers on the sport. Matchett's latest book is well worth a look ... informative and fact-filled." DAILY EXPRESS MOTORING "Formula One fans should read Matchett, who does a good job of reducing science to a comprehensible level." THE TIMES BUSINESS

Product Description

Join Steve Matchett, racing broadcaster, columnist, and longtime Formula 1 mechanic for the championship Benetton team, on a quest to build the ultimate racing machine. During a fogbound evening in an airport lounge, Matchett and some fellow enthusiasts began a discussion of racecar design, a conversation which evolved into a detailed examination of the teams and technologies behind the world’s most complex sport. Their thoughts are captured here, from choosing the best chassis and most advanced suspension to building the strongest gearbox, providing an unmatched insider view of the international F1 scene.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Orion (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752856499
• ISBN-13: 978-0752856490
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #917,986 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating intro to F1 technology, September 28, 2004

By	M. Rosen (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a big F1 fan and enjoy listening to Matchett's commentary on the Speed F1 broadcasts. He's intelligent, well-spoken and has a deep base of knowledge of the F1 universe. This book literally picks Matchett's brain for every scrap of knowledge about the mechanics and science (and art) of Formula 1 racecar design. It's built around a somewhat affected premise of a long airplane flight conversation with some fictional F1 fans. This is the only part of the book that feels a little weak. He doesn't write fiction as well as facts, and his new-found friends come off sounding like a group of wealthy British twits. One even asks Steve "What say you, old man?". Please tell me no one still says things like that.

I still strongly recommend this book. I learned a lot about F1 car design and the science of racing in general, as well as some interesting background on the people involved in the sport.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Nuts and Bolts of Formula One, September 16, 2005

By	Leo Lim (Collierville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Matchett's latest offering opens the readers' eyes to the pinnacle of motorsport engineering that is Formula One and he does not disappoint.

Discussions on this book center around a car's "stressed members" namely the monocoque, engine and gearbox. Also mentioned is the design of the fuel tank which I find particularly interesting in light of BAR's "disqualification" from the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix for essentially using the same design as described here.
The reader also gets to differentiate between a pull rod vs a push rod suspension, twin keel vs single keel, oversteer vs understeer. Quite interesting also are Matchett's insights into the tire war.

My only beef with this book is that for a technical introduction to Formula One, it should contain more schematic drawings so that a reader who is not a mechanical engineer can readily grasp it without going through secondary sources. The context in which this book unfolds i.e. in an airport lounge among a group of stranded passengers seems out of place and sometimes gets in the way of the technical detail.

Little shortcomings notwithstanding, this has proven to be quite a good technical introduction to Formula One and inevitably makes the reader look beyond the drivers and pay closer attention to their steeds which are the real works of art.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great romp through the arcane world of F1, August 19, 2004

By	Joseph Chu "F1 Enthusiast" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Covering all aspects of the modern F1 car from nose cone to diffusers, Matchett serves up a masterful analysis of what's in an F1 car and why. Couched in the form of a chance encounter with F1 enthusiasts, his artful descriptions of the hyper technology and old fashioned elbow grease needed to extrude the final magnificent result are a pleasure to read.

To the enthusiast, this book will be a page turner. To the newbie, an approachable, non-condescending, very informative read.

However, the travelogue introduction and conclusion are a bit of an indulgence. They do, however, help the reader get to know Steve the person, reminding us that he is in some ways a regular guy who eats at diners in Manhattan and sips coffee in Paris, in addition to being at the pinnacle of the motorsport-journalist world, and enshrined in F1 hall-of-fame-of-the-mind for his role in the 1994 World Championship.