Grand Prix Racers: Portraits of Speed - Hardcover

Chimits, Xavier

9780760334300: Grand Prix Racers: Portraits of Speed

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0760334307 ISBN 13: 9780760334300

Publisher: Motorbooks, 2008

The heroes of Grand Prix racing--Fangio, Jim Clark, Phil Hill, Bruce McLaren, Jackie Stewart, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, and Michael Schumacher, to name but a few--are familiar to F1 fans. But would their faces and feats be so well known if not for the extraordinary efforts of the photographers who have captured their images in legendary fashion?

This book gives readers a look at Grand Prix racing’s top drivers by way of its top photographers, the father and son team of Bernard and Paul-Henri Cahier. Bernard Cahier began shooting F1 in 1952. In the late 1960s, he was joined by his son. Their images, reproduced here in all their brilliance, capture some of the most memorable, even legendary, moments in the history of Grand Prix racing.

These incomparable photographs comprise intimate portraits of seventy-two of the sports’ greatest drivers from the 1950s through today. Beautifully printed in rich black and white, the pictures treat readers to an encounter with the legendary racers of the Grand Prix that is at once remarkably fresh and historically rich.

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From the Inside Flap:

Formula One history is about more than just statistics. Wins, championships, and pole positions tell only a fraction of the story. Formula One is above all a human sport; its history is filled with stories of honor and ruthlessness, courage and cowardice, selflessness and greed. Since the sport’s beginning, photographer Bernard Cahier has turned his lens on the human side of this dramatic and sometimes unforgiving sport. Later joined by his son, Paul-Henri, the Cahiers have captured the exclusive, often insular world of Formula One through evocative portraits and breathtaking action shots. Noted Formula One journalist Xavier Chimits has carefully chosen photos from the Cahier archive, combining the images with profiles of seventy-two grand prix racers—the intriguing personalities that have shaped and continued to shape the sport.

Bernard Cahier and Paul-Henri Cahier, father and son: an authentic eye and a penetrating eye. From generation to generation and style to style, this book presents a family tradition that captured the brilliance behind the legends of speed.

Bernard Cahier has left his mark on grand prix racing through his captivating portraits of Formula One drivers. It all began in 1952 with a simple Leica camera and an authentic eye for capturing images of this noble but dangerous sport.

Naturally, his son, Paul-Henri Cahier, found his own calling in photography. Since his earliest years, the younger Cahier has been drawn to the siren song of roaring Formula One engines. By age fourteen he was taking his own pictures and treading the same paddocks and pit areas that his father knew so well. Over his extensive career, Paul-Henri has approached Formula One photography as an artistic exploration. His eloquent images capture the essence of the pinnacle of motorsport.

Twenty years of covering Formula One brought Xavier Chimits into close acquaintance with the Cahiers. This book is born from that friendship. The former editor-in-chief of L’Automobile Magazine, Chimits has already published several works about Formula One.

From the Back Cover:

From the perspective of Formula One drivers, Bernard Cahier was more than just a photographer. He was a member of their elite community. As a privileged and respected witness to Formula One’s early years, Cahier enjoyed a unique access to his subjects. For Cahier, these famously hard and silent men were willing to let down their guard, allowing his camera to record images that represent real moments of shared intimacy.

Bernard’s son, Paul-Henri, was blessed with the same gifts as his father, and he soon found his own place in the Formula One community. Between them, across six decades of Formula One history, every grand prix driver has been immortalized by the Cahier duo—from Nino Farina, the very first World Champion in 1950, to the reigning title holder, Kimi R�ikk�nen. Choosing which drivers to feature—and which ones to leave out—was a painful process. But the results are spectacular. Represented here are seventy-two legendary grand prix drivers; their portraits and stories tell the breathtaking history of Formula One, with all of its triumph and tragedy, joy and loss.

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