Saturday 15th March 2025

Formula 2:  THE GLORY YEARS, 1967-84  Book review by Ed McDonough

I can now apologise to Chris Witty for harassing him over the last few years to get this book done. It was worth the wait.

While a few people might say that the earlier F2 period - 1964-1966 - should have been included in depth, Jutta Fausel’s magnificent archive covers the later period in amazing depth, and the reader who takes the time to take this volume in slowly and carefully will come away with a real feeling of what the Formula 2 period was like.

There are nearly 900 black and white and colour photos, almost all of which are Jutta’s, with a few from LAT and a couple of Nick Loudon’s great shots. The task of putting together so many high-quality pictures was enormous and they are all superb, Jutta was probably the only photographer who went to almost every F2 race. The story of the 18-year period is weaved throughout by an able team, consisting of the people who were there and recorded the events: Chris Witty, Bob Constanduros, Peter Higham, Mark Hughes and Ian Phillips. Their input brings the period alive, as does the contribution from drivers of the period, including Jacky Ickx, Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Corrado Fabi, Jonathan Palmer, Mike Thackwell and many others. They ensure that the feel of that period is captured in a very real way.

While the visual content, the photos, are the core of this 560-page book, there is plenty of detail with annual race results, championship points and diagrams of all the circuits. I was there for some of those races, not nearly enough of them, and this great book brings it all back. What a good job!

Formula 2   THE GLORY YEARS, 1967-84
Author:  Jutta Fausel
Photographs by Jutta Fausel
Foreword byJacky Ickx
Afterward by Chris Witty
ISBN 978-1-910505-19-9
Published by Evro Publishing
Price £95.00