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Gerhard Berger: The Human Face of Formula 1
Book by Christopher Hilton
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
About the author
Christopher Hilton
129 books10 followersChristopher (Chris) Hilton was a former sportswriter with the Daily Express.
Hilton had begun his career in journalism at The Journal in Newcastle, and then worked at the Express‘s offices in Manchester before moving to London in the mid-1970s when recruited by then sports editor Ken Lawrence to cover Formula 1.
Hilton was a key member of the sports desk editing staff, as well as covering ice skating for the paper during the period when Torvill and Dean were winning world and Olympic ice dance titles.
For the past two decades after leaving the Express, Hilton has freelanced, especially in F1 and writing his books, including biographies of Ayrton Senna, James Hunt and Michael Schumacher, as well as a novel. As recently as last month, his latest book, about F1 team leader Ross Brawn, was published.
Chris Hilton leaves a wife, Jean, and daughter.
Hilton had begun his career in journalism at The Journal in Newcastle, and then worked at the Express‘s offices in Manchester before moving to London in the mid-1970s when recruited by then sports editor Ken Lawrence to cover Formula 1.
Hilton was a key member of the sports desk editing staff, as well as covering ice skating for the paper during the period when Torvill and Dean were winning world and Olympic ice dance titles.
For the past two decades after leaving the Express, Hilton has freelanced, especially in F1 and writing his books, including biographies of Ayrton Senna, James Hunt and Michael Schumacher, as well as a novel. As recently as last month, his latest book, about F1 team leader Ross Brawn, was published.
Chris Hilton leaves a wife, Jean, and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 2, 2022
really solid bio!! good & poignant & many points are so so important to bear in mind today esp
March 10, 2015
"Drivers write cheques to the angels until one day there are no more cheques in the book". This pretty much sums up the lows of Gerhard's career. Not his own lows - apart from that awful 1989 accident at Tamburello but the fact that his good friend Senna died on that horrific weekend in May 1994.
This book made me laugh and it made me cry. The foreword by Senna is especially poignant - written for the first edition of this book which came out prior to his death - it praises Gerhard as a lovely guy , a good friend and a teammmate Senna was glad he had had the chance to race with.
This sums up Gerhard - there is simply no one better. He kept his sense of who he was throughout his career and never became a victim of his own success. They simply don't make them like Gerhard anymore. And I think this is why he is so well known today - he never won the Championship after all but we all still know his name. A testament to the popularity of the man himself.
The comments from Senna are lovely and show that Senna loved Gerhard and I think Gerhard loved him too. They were close and Gerhard perhaps was the part of Senna that Senna never allowed himself to be. The part that didn't focus on winning all the time - the part that could just race for fun. That's why they got on so well.
I have to admire Gerhard for continuing to race after Ratzenberger and Senna's deaths. Two of his close friends were gone yet he still found the strength to carry on. I like to think that in part he did it for them. Because they wouldn't want to be the reason he gave up doing what he loved and what he was good at.
A thoroughly lovely man who deserves the popularity he rightfully has. We need more drivers like him these days.
This book made me laugh and it made me cry. The foreword by Senna is especially poignant - written for the first edition of this book which came out prior to his death - it praises Gerhard as a lovely guy , a good friend and a teammmate Senna was glad he had had the chance to race with.
This sums up Gerhard - there is simply no one better. He kept his sense of who he was throughout his career and never became a victim of his own success. They simply don't make them like Gerhard anymore. And I think this is why he is so well known today - he never won the Championship after all but we all still know his name. A testament to the popularity of the man himself.
The comments from Senna are lovely and show that Senna loved Gerhard and I think Gerhard loved him too. They were close and Gerhard perhaps was the part of Senna that Senna never allowed himself to be. The part that didn't focus on winning all the time - the part that could just race for fun. That's why they got on so well.
I have to admire Gerhard for continuing to race after Ratzenberger and Senna's deaths. Two of his close friends were gone yet he still found the strength to carry on. I like to think that in part he did it for them. Because they wouldn't want to be the reason he gave up doing what he loved and what he was good at.
A thoroughly lovely man who deserves the popularity he rightfully has. We need more drivers like him these days.
January 11, 2009
This book covers Gerhard Berger’s life up to the point where he started testing the 93 Ferrari. I think it was one of the rare F1 biographies out there that actually had some involvement with its main player, Berger himself. It provides some interesting details about his career up to that point including the interesting tyre choice he made to win his first race, relationship with other drivers, and the way he went about choosing between McLaren or Ferrari for 1993. On the whole it was nothing special but there aren’t exactly a vast array of Berger biographies on the market. I do hope Gerhard himself gets around to writing an autobiography because he was quite the character back in the day, pulling all sorts of pranks on people and had a very diverse F1 career. Some of the stories I’ve read between he and Ayrton Senna or Jean Alesi are just hilarious and I’m sure there is a whole series of them waiting to come out. Here’s hoping.
June 11, 2008
Only recommended if you like Berger (which I do!). No great insights into F1 otherwise but good detail about his life and career.
October 7, 2014
A very human humerus, man, who started late without all the advantages of some and made it right to the top against all the odds. A great read
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews