Catherine Raynes: On the Grid: The Inside Track on Formula 1 and Life Hacks for a Little Alien

On the Grid: The Inside Track on Formula 1 by Luke Smith  

I've always vowed the moment the grid stops being the best part of my race weekend, it's time to stop working in F1. It's everything about the sport distilled: the sounds, the smells, the tension, the glamor, the people. This is the story of life in F1.  

Luke Smith has spent over ten years reporting on Formula 1 from all over the world. The grid is his playground, the track his literal running track. In On the Grid he takes us behind the scenes of the past, present and future of Formula 1, telling its story through the eyes of the people who create it - not just the superstar drivers and larger-than-life team principals, but also the pit crew, the engineers, strategists, PR gurus, the fans and more.  

There's plenty of thrilling drama, cutting-edge technology and glamour, but Smith also shows us the critical mid-race decisions, how that 50-pence screw in the wrong place could cause a GBP15m car to break down, how F1 has influenced not just the cars we drive but our fridges, life-saving medical equipment and even croissants.  

On the Grid brings to life what the sport is really like, revealing the extraordinary minds and characters that give it such colour and intrigue, while also tracing the origins of the sport's traditions and impact beyond the track. For both long-time fans and newcomers, it's the definitive, access-all-areas account of the people, personalities and culture that make F1 stand alone in world sport. 

  

Life Hacks for a Little Alien by Alice Franklin  

From her first words to her first day at school, Little Alien can't help but get things wrong. She doesn't understand the world the way others seem to, and the world doesn't seem to understand her either. Her anxious mum and meticulous dad, while well-intentioned, are of little help.  

But when Little Alien sees a documentary about the Voynich Manuscript - a mediaeval codex written in an unknown language and script - she begins to suspect that there are other people who feel just like her. Convinced that translating this manuscript will offer the answers she needs, she sets out on a journey that will show her a delicious taste of freedom.  

So begins Little Alien's story, told from the perspective of an older, wiser linguist, whose guidance will help Little Alien navigate a world that makes her feel like she doesn't belong. 

 

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