Inside The Mind of The Grand Prix Driver - Christopher Hilton

Following my reading of the book Deadly Obsessions, I threw myself into another motor-racing-related work, Inside The Mind of The Grand Prix Driver, written by the late Christopher Hilton (the edition I read dates from 2003). The latter book covered similar ground to Deadly Obsessions, but felt more substantial and absorbing in some respects.

I am not really sure to what extent the book truly gets "inside the mind" of the driver, but I found this to be quite an engaging and illuminating look at the world inhabited by racing pilots, tending to belie some of the assessments which I have seen elsewhere. The interviews with drivers are very revealing, and often entertaining.

There are some valuable nuggets of information about the career paths of certain drivers, and we see how precarious and stressful the driver's existence is, with constant anxiety about job security and one's status within team and sport.  It is true to say that the pressures and the intensity rise with each passing year, but it sounds as though the situation was pretty fraught and demanding even in the early 1980s!

The recollections of various Grand Prix competitors really do bring home the notion of the "survival of the fittest" being one of the main guiding principles of the F1 firmament. To many this might seem like an indictment of the sport, a recognition that one must be ruthless and grasping in order to not just succeed, but merely survive. On the other hand, I was quite inspired by being immersed in this rarefied atmosphere, where the mental and psychological faculties and capabilities are stretched to the limits.

Some of the drivers do come across as deluded in their assessments of their abilities, achievements and relative worth, but these traits have to be placed in the context of the necessity to survive, the nature of the beast. Outsiders, real outsiders, would have difficulty comprehending and appreciating all these things. Anything that helps them cope....

In one or two cases I was left wondering whether the drivers' pronouncements constituted posturing and bravado, a front which enabled them to navigate choppy and hostile waters. I suspect that many "lesser lights" have to put on an act, whereas the true greats can more or less take certain attributes for granted, without having to constantly broadcast their prevalence or importance.

It is pointed out in the book that after they retire from racing some drivers mellow, realise that they no longer require "extreme" attitudes or motivations. Others may have been "contaminated" more profoundly by their experiences and remain in "F1 mode" long after they hang up their helmets.

One of the tests of a book for me is the degree to which it instilled in me an enhanced knowledge and understanding of a subject at hand. This work, on balance, does pass that test. The contributions of Jonathan Palmer, Julian Bailey, Perry McCarthy, Martin Donnelly and Allan McNish I found especially instructive, for differing reasons.

To return to the theme which I sought to develop in my article about Deadly Obsessions, did I learn anything from the Hilton book about how the world has changed in the past two decades? Not really, as this is a drier and less emotive exploration of the F1 community.

Alain Prost - Christopher Hilton

Continuing my odyssey through assorted racing driver biographies, I turned next to the late Christopher Hilton's book about Alain Prost. This edition was published before he did his final F1 season (1993) with Williams.

I found this to be a frank exploration of its subject, looking at the darker and less appealing sides of Prost, whilst also acknowledging his undoubted strengths. Also, there is lots of valuable and intriguing material about the nature of the sport, with some illuminating contributions from colleagues and associates.

After re-reading this book I was left with the conclusion that the sport itself did not (maybe still does not) lend itself to the most pleasant relationships and to the most admirable behaviour.  Then again, these people would not have got to this position without exhibiting certain characteristics to an abnormal degree.  Extreme scenarios are not always conducive to compromise or even moderation.

As for Prost,  I was reinforced in my esteem for his driving ability, perhaps even enhanced, although his performances seldom stirred the blood like those of Senna, Schumacher and others.  I retain some ambivalence about Prost the person.  Yes, he was a man of principle and honesty in many respects, but was also quite manipulative and a bit of a moaner at times.

This biography is an even-handed account, I would contend, and I do not think that the author could be accused either of favouritism or of any bias. I enjoyed the passages about Prost's karting exploits, and the assertion (an assertion arguably supported by the facts and statistics) that in reality he did not exactly set the world on fire in that field of endeavour.  The opening chapter is also well done and impactful.

In conclusion, there is some good insight about what made Prost tick as a racing driver and as a human being. He was clearly suited to the tactical and technical demands of the mid-1980s, but successfully adapted to the later "sprint" era - 1990 was one of his greatest seasons, putting Nigel Mansell into the shade that year. Although the period is not covered by this book, I felt that he rather "phoned in" his drives in 1993, equipped as he was with the best car. The problem was that his effortless style did not inspire, because people prefer to see the effort up-front.

Ayrton Senna - The Hard Edge of Genius - Christopher Hilton

I recently decided to revisit some "old" books, starting with racing driver biographies, and first on my list was this work about Ayrton Senna, written by the late Christopher Hilton.

The Hard Edge Of Genius was written in the early 1990s, and the edition which I have takes the story up to the point where Senna had just clinched his second world championship title.

There have been many books about Senna, but to me this one still stands up as one of the best. It is notable for its relative brevity, its breezy tone and style, and its genuine efforts to explain and understand a man who was already regarded as something of a phenomenon.

An intriguing dimension of going back to this biography was to acquire a snapshot of how Senna was perceived when he was arguably approaching the apogee of his career. The story was not yet complete of course, but the notion of the "flawed genius" was already largely in place. The Brazilian did seem to mellow in later years, but when this book was written that stage of his development could not be clearly foreseen. Indeed, there are some fascinating predictions as to how the Senna tale might develop or end.

Like other authors who have tackled this subject, Hilton makes a creditable attempt to grasp the essence of what made Senna tick, and like others he was confronted with a complex, somewhat elusive set of conclusions. Some of the factors which made Senna special were what made people hostile towards him circa 1990, although I think that later on people appreciated him more, partly because he was sometimes cast as the underdog (in 1992 and 1993 for example), and this helped to fill out and consolidate the mystique which existed even before Imola 1994.

Good use is made of quotations and observations from people who knew and worked with Senna. This is important, because the author is able to make some credible assertions about the Senna approach and persona based on actual events which occurred long before he even reached the glittering heights of Grand Prix racing.

Going through this work again I was reminded most of all what a remarkable, unusual and multi-faceted person Senna was.  These characteristics are what make him and his story much more compelling than those individuals with merely statistical claims to greatness.

This biography stands as a very worthy effort to analyse Senna and the "Senna effect".  Hilton himself, and others, wrote books later which encompassed the whole story, including his tragic demise, but this remains a praiseworthy effort in its own right.

1982 - The Inside Story of the Sensational Grand Prix season - Christopher Hilton

I remember that during the 2012 Formula 1 season, relative neophytes were speculating that we were experiencing perhaps the most dramatic and unpredictable Grand Prix year ever.  Those people had evidently not been around in 1982. Christopher Hilton's book, published in 2007, captures the turbulence and tragedy of that extraordinary season.

For me, the 1982 campaign was in large part coloured, and tarnished, by the death of Gilles Villeneuve, who was one of my first heroes in life. I distinctly remember crying on the day of his accident, staring into space at the end of our driveway, on a warm spring evening.  However, as time has passed I have grown to recognize how that season did have some redeeming features.

The material about the drivers' strike in South Africa is fascinating, in that it suggests that the views of many of the drivers were ambivalent. They were caught between concerns of principle and solidarity and the imperatives of ambition and avarice.  There are some interesting theories about Niki Lauda's motives, too. The strike is also placed within the context of the wider, momentous power struggle which was ongoing within the sport at that time.  A healthy selection of quotes from drivers and other personnel helps to paint the picture.

The chapter dealing with the Belgian Grand Prix in May contains much harrowing but gripping testimony about the events of that tragic qualifying session at Zolder.  Similarly, the passages documenting the Canadian Grand Prix, the scene of Ricardo Paletti's fatal accident, are moving and affecting. It is good that the author went to the trouble of researching Paletti's background and racing career.

Reading the quotes and recollections in this book, it occurs to me that in the 1980s, Grand Prix drivers were more worldly men than they are today. Maybe I think in these terms because the drivers in those days were much older than me, whereas nowadays I am many years their senior. People such as Derek Warwick and John Watson impress with their honesty and roundedness. Making allowances, one would have to say that, thirty-odd years ago, the goldfish bowl was less overpowering, and the world was a different place.

"1982" also offers a persuasive reminder that technological progress has made things too "perfect" and "infallible" to be interesting and uncertain on an "organic" level. Variables and imponderables are banished, and much of the soul and raw excitement extracted.

The heterogeneous nature of the venues, the media coverage and so forth is another part of the backdrop to this work, No identikit tracks, podium ceremonies, pit and paddock complexes, and the like.

Hilton relates some great tales, such as the Toleman "half-tanks" ploys and the Derek Daly "short cut" at Dijon. More innocent times, but in keeping with many aspects of this book, I get the impression that the people involved have been made less guarded and equivocal, and more candid, in their recollections by the passage of time.

It seems to me that, in a Formula 1 sense at least, the 1980s had not truly arrived in 1982.  I tend to see this as happening in 1984, with the full flowering of the Ron Dennis/TAG/Lauda/Prost era at McLaren.  Things became more clinical and orderly, and rough edges were smoothed over. The years 1982 and 1983, by contrast,  still exuded elements of the Seventies. A transitional, confusing, but vibrant time.

Christopher Hilton's book, lavishly illustrated and well-researched, evokes those times vividly.