Product Description

In the years since Sid Watkins' first bestselling book of Formula One memoirs, Life at the Limit, was published the sport has seen enormous changes. The FIA's President, Max Mosley, has launched a zero option policy with the goal of zero mortality and much research and development has gone into technical changes to the cars, circuit design, safety barrier development and personal protection in the cockpit. The Prof has been intimately involved with this work, and discusses it in detail here, but as he knows only too well, uncertainty and unpredictability provide the thrills both the fans and the drivers crave.

In Beyond the Limit, Watkins also looks at some of the extraordinary Grands Prix the sport has seen in the last four years, including Schumacher's epic crash at Silverstone in 1999. He also looks back over his twenty or more years in the sport and discusses some of the great drivers he has known. Here, too, is a race-by-race account of the Millenium season offering a completely up-to-date picture of Formula One at the beginning of the 21st century.

'Makes fascinating reading' Planet F1

'Lively and entertaining...will make the reader laugh out loud' F1 Magazine

'[Sid Watkin's] anecdotes are littered with humour and show us that one of the most respected men in F1 is also one of the funniest' Motorsport News

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #90776 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 226 pages

Review
'Makes fascinating reading' Planet F1; 'Lively and entertaining...will make the reader laugh out loud' F1 Magazine; '[Sid Watkin's] anecdotes are littered with humour and show us that one of the most respected men in F1 is also one of the funniest' Motorsport News

About the Author
Sid Watkins has been involved in Formula One since 1978 and is one of the best-loved figures in the sport. He is also a leading neuro-surgeon.

Customer Reviews

I couldn't put it down
Prof Watkins' account of Formula One has made me become very interested in this sport, despite knowing nothing about it whatsoever before I read this excellent book and his other- Life at the Limit. His role of being the chief medical man at every Formula One meeting, and his invaluable help with all the tremendous safety innovations which have revolutionarised the sport, make him a leading man- no one better could write such a book. Added to this is his wicked sense of humour which shines through every page and kept me giggling throughout the book, and what is created is a must-have guide for anyone interested in Grand Prix. Read it and see for yourself...

A clingfilm-thin follow-up to a previous worthwhile book.
Prof Sid should be worth a read. He has seen more of the action and characters of F1, closer up, than anyone - even Murray Walker or B. Ecclestone. ...

The book consists of a hotchpotch of anecdotes presumably assembled from the ones left on his editor's floor from the previous book, many of which are banal, weak and lacking any connection with F1. This last point would not matter if the stories were pithy, witty and interesting: few are.

A pointless, skimpy and garbled re-hash of the 2000 season is trotted out to fill out the mid-section and the book ends with appendices of tables of extremely erudite but arcane statistics on injuries, construction materials, design specs and other matters vital to the FIA Medical and Technical Committees but of no interest to anyone else - not even Grand Prix drivers, I suspect - least of all Eddie Irvine ...

Prof Sid is a self-deprecating fellow. The result of the modesty of his narrative is that on many occasions you feel he's apologising for being present at the events and with the characters involved: consequently, descriptions are thin, lack colour and tend either to drift to vague, aimless conclusions or just stop dead, leaving the reader suspended, waiting for a point that will never be made.

By all means buy this book for a journey, swallow it whole at one sitting for the occasional insight or humorous anecdote expressed by an evidently charming man, then leave it on the plane without a second thought, as I did. One day we will have the full autobiography of Prof Sid, hopefully guided by a writer such as Alan Henry, Nigel Roebuck or David Tremayne. Unlike this one, that book will be worth keeping.

A book with an insight behind the scences of F1
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, Sid is a great storyteller. If you're looking for a different F1 book than this is the one for you!! I liked reading about different drivers reactions after a crash, and how some still managed to be on top of things. It's a great read and I'd recommend it to anyone who's into F1.