The Lost Generation - The Brilliant But Tragic Lives of Rising British F1 Stars

By: David Tremayne . 2nd hand book in very good condition

The brilliant but tragic lives of rising British F1 stars Roger Williamson, Tony Brise and Tom Pryce.
Formula 1 in the 1970s was a colourful kaleidoscope in which drivers' personalities were not hamstrung by corporate correctness, cars were distinctively different, and technological innovation was rife. But it was also a brutal era when racing fatalities were not unusual and men such as three-times World Champion Jackie Stewart and BRM's Louis Stanley fought an uphill battle to improve safety standards in the face of apathy and, in some quarters, derision.

When Stewart retired at the end of a bloody 1973 season, James Hunt donned his mantle as the leading British racer — but, for many aficionados, three other Britons showed even more talent. Roger Williamson was a feisty little fighter with a determination reminiscent of mentor Tom Wheatcroft's hero Juan Manuel Fangio. Tony Brise had the hallmarks of Stewart and the steeliness to go all the way. Tom Pryce had the car control of Jochen Rindt and Ronnie Peterson, and the retiring nature of Jimmy Clark.

Williamson was to have been Ken Tyrrell's choice to replace Stewart for 1974, but died in shameful circumstances in the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix.

Two years later, Brise was a passenger in Graham Hill's plane when the former World Champion crashed in November fog over Arkley Golf Course. Two years after that, Pryce died in South Africa when he was struck at 170mph by the fire extinguisher carried by a well-meaning marshal.

Their lives are celebrated in The Lost Generation, an honest, poignant yet uplifting story of three brilliant young drivers who had each been tipped as potential World Champions.

David Tremayne — motor racing correspondent for The Independent — has written a number of well-received titles for Haynes including The Science of Formula 1 Design, The Science of Speed, The Science of Safety, and Rubens Barrichello: In the spirit of Senna and the shadow of Schumacher