Tales from the toolbox

by Michael Oliver, Jackie Stewart (Foreword by)

Tales from the Toolbox is a unique collection of behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes as told, in their own words, by former Grand Prix mechanics who have worked at the top level of the sport during the past 50 years. On the front line of the sport, mixing with drivers and team bosses, they saw a side of it that nobody else got to see and rarely gets to hear about – and this book tells their story. Chapters are themed around a particular aspect of a mechanic's life, ranging from what they consider the highs and lows of their career, to their opinions of drivers and team bosses, the all-nighters, letting off steam, the ‘Mechanic's Gallon,' nightmare journeys and customs capers. It also reveals a tale of camaraderie between teams and individual mechanics which is hard to imagine in today's highly competitive Formula One environment. The stories are supplemented by photographs from the archives and photo albums of the mechanics themselves, many of which are previously unseen.

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Michael Francis Oliver, born 17 March 1963

Reviews

[Mark Ueber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminiscences of English Formula 1 mechanics, most of whom were active in the 60's and 70's. It's amazing what they put up with to pursue the sport. Very interesting for the insights offered by the mechanics about many key team owners, managers, and racing drivers. Lots of fun stories too.

[Susan]

Some interesting stories from the days of old in F1 about what the various parties involved got up to. Forgot you used to need a passport to get from country to country in Europe....that seemed to cause all sorts of havocs in years gone by!