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HarperCollins Children's Books

How to Build a Car: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Formula 1 Designer

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'Adrian has a unique gift for understanding drivers and racing cars. He is ultra competitive but never forgets to have fun. An immensely likeable man.' Damon HillThe world’s foremost designer in Formula One, Adrian Newey OBE is arguably one of Britain’s greatest engineers and this is his fascinating, powerful memoir.How to Build a Car explores the story of Adrian’s unrivalled 36-year career in Formula One through the prism of the cars he has designed, the drivers he has worked alongside and the races in which he’s been involved.A true engineering genius, even in adolescence Adrian’s thoughts naturally emerged in shape and form – he began sketching his own car designs at the age of 12 and took a welding course in his school summer holidays. From his early career in IndyCar racing and on to his unparalleled success in Formula One, we learn in comprehensive, engaging and highly entertaining detail how a car actually works. Adrian has designed for the likes of Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Mika Hakkinen, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, always with a shark-like purity of purpose: to make the car go faster. And while his career has been marked by unbelievable triumphs, there have also been deep tragedies; most notably Ayrton Senna’s death during his time at Williams in 1994.Beautifully illustrated with never-before-seen drawings, How to Build a Car encapsulates, through Adrian’s remarkable life story, precisely what makes Formula One so thrilling – its potential for the total synchronicity of man and machine, the perfect combination of style, efficiency and speed. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins


Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 1, 2019


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 400 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 000835247X


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 79


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.8 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.52 x 0.83 x 9.45 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #18,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1 in Drafting & Mechanical Drawing (Books) #2 in Motor Sports (Books) #7 in Automotive Racing


#1 in Drafting & Mechanical Drawing (Books):


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Learned alot
Format: Kindle
Very informative while being entertaining. A look into the behind the scenes workings of the F1 circus. The result of dedicated passion and long hard hours of pursuing a satisfying fix to to never ending changes.
Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2026 by thebagelman
    • Interesting read
Excellent read, well worth it for anyone interested in the behind the scenes/decision making and challenges in motorsports.
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2026 by Amazon Customer
    • for the F1 fan How to Build A Car is pretty much required reading
This is a book mostly for F1 aficionados, although it may appeal to anyone interested in automotive engineering/design, especially with regards to aerodynamics. On the positive side, Mr. Newey well-describes the chassis design challenges in F1--mostly packaging the mechanical components in an aerodynamically effective package, at least as I understand it. He makes the somewhat discouraging point that exploiting loopholes in the rules is a major part of getting a leg up on one's competition. He also affords look into a number of interesting F1 personalities. On the less positive side, he spends relatively little time on the quirks, working style, etc. of the many interesting personalities in F1--which is perhaps understandable since he is still working in that environment--and there is next to nothing about engine development, the other big piece of the car. I also didn't find the (ghost-written) style of writing to my taste. Bottom line, for the F1 fan How to Build A Car is pretty much required reading, but much less so for everybody else. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2018 by BookFan
    • A fascinating memoir by one of the all-time-great figures in Formula 1
Format: Kindle
I thoroughly enjoyed Adrian Newey's reflections on his development from a racing-obsessed kid into one of the most prolific engineers and technical leaders of motorsport. As an aerospace engineer and aerodynamicist myself, I found many of his stories of overcoming challenges to eventually succeed to be very relevant to my own career and life experiences - his grit and ingenuity are truly inspirational. Furthermore his mention of personal/family challenges along the way make Adrian even more relatable as a person, and someone even more respectable for having achieved what he has despite going through hard times in his life. If I had to level one minor criticism at the book I would say some of the discussions get a bit technical (though they do avoid resorting to numbers and equations), and in Newey's defense he has included some figures and sketches to try and help explain things. What's really cool though is that those sketches are probably straight off of his drawing board from his successful stints at Williams, McLaren and Red Bull when working with legends such as Senna, Hakkinen, and Vettel! I highly recommend that anyone interested in motorsport as well as engineering in general pick up this book - it is well worth the read. It certainly has it's place in my library! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2025 by Vikram Aditya Kumar
    • Great details to the cars Great details to the cars
Review Image by JCastle
Great book for formula 1 fans. Adrian shares a lot of personal experiences and at the same time explains the mechanical aspects of the F1 cars. It took me a while to realize it was out, this book is from 2017!!
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2026 Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2026 by JCastle
    • Good mix of technical and tactical and historical insights
If you even have a remote interest in F1 and are ready for some technical reading on car design and aerodynamics, you will not regret it reading this. It’s informative, entertaining and a good insight into the back stage life of F1 teams.
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2025 by Swapna Patki
    • Bravo
Format: Kindle
Informative and well written. Learned a lot and enjoyed the ride. Recommend ed for racing cars fans or anyone interested in designing automobiles.
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2025 by Robert mossman
    • Red Bull Origin Story
Super accessible, very personable. Might have benefited from a more aggressive editor. It is practically essential reading for newer fans of F1 (me) to understand how we got into the situation where a single car is so much better than everything else on the grid.
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2024 by Boaty McBoatface

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