Book Review: Formula 1 in Camera 1960-1969 by Paul Parker

Although Paul Parker and Haynes Publishing have now produced four titles in the ‘Formula 1 in Camera’ series books, they were not published in decade sequence. “Formula 1 in Camera 1960-69” was published after the first two 70s and 80s books but continues with the proven format of covering each F1 season within that decade complemented by beautiful color archival photos.

Consistent with the previous two titles in the series (reviews of these to come soon) which featured Rainer Schlegelmilch photography, the photo selection here (largely LAT Photographic archive material) is just as good. If some of the photos are familiar, its because quite a number of the car shots also appear as thumbnail images in the 1960s chapters of Simon Arron’s and Mark Hughes’ “The Complete Book of Formula One”.

The book is slightly unusual compared with most other books covering this era because all the photography is in color. The other pleasant aspect is the inclusion of lots of photography of lesser known drivers and cars instead of only focusing on the big name drivers and teams of the time. From Laurence Reventlow’s Scarab in the opening chapter to Pete Lovely’s blue striped white Lotus 49B in the final chapter – there are some interesting photo gems here amongst the shots of Brabham, Clark, Hulme, Rindt, Siffert, Gurney, Stewart & co.

While there are a few grainy photos, in general the photo resolution is excellent and the layout panels are nicely varied.

Being an admirer of 60s Honda GP cars, there are several shots of the Japanese marque including Bucknam’s RA271, Ginther RA272 and Surtees’ RA300.

Formula 1 in Camera 1960-69 is a well balanced book in many ways – the race photos have been purposely selected and avoids having too many repeat angle shots unless for comparison. There is a good mix of team coverage from BRM, Ferrari, Cooper and the amateur teams like BRP and upcomers like McLaren M2B, so there something for everyone. Throw in some very well researched technical and historically informative photo captions by the author and this book is definitely makes it into the list of recommended F1 book titles.

Wow Factor or the Money Shot: A few color photos – Porsche 718 and 804 at the 1962 French GP

Suitable for: 1960s GP fans (especially Ferrari 156 fans).