His debut book, Grid to Glory: 75 Milestone Formula One Moments, released in the UK last week and set to arrive in Australia next month, sets out to do something deceptively simple: tell the story of F1 through 75 key moments that shaped it.
The result is an engaging, accessible, and thought-provoking read that will appeal to both lifelong fans and those still finding their way around the paddock.
Jacques has structured the book chronologically, starting from the sport’s formative years and running right through to the present day — concluding with moments such as Lewis Hamilton’s shock move to Ferrari and the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi title decider.
The chapters are short, snappy and easy to consume, but each is dense with context, colour and historical meaning. It’s a format that works brilliantly, allowing readers to dip in and out or devour it in a single sitting.
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For seasoned fans, there’s immense enjoyment in revisiting well-known flashpoints with a fresh perspective.
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Jacques’s knack for connecting dots across eras often recontextualises familiar stories.
One standout example comes early, where he highlights the remarkable sliding-doors moment of Sir Jack Brabham almost becoming a truck driver — a decision that, had it gone differently, might have changed the entire fabric of the sport.
Without Brabham, there might have been no Brabham F1 team, and by extension, perhaps no Bernie Ecclestone or Ron Dennis in the positions that ultimately shaped modern Formula 1.
Those ripples — how one decision, dispute or piece of innovation can alter the sport’s trajectory — are a theme that runs through the book. Jacques explores them not as dry history lessons but as living, breathing stories that continue to echo today.
That same sensibility is clear when he reflects on the infamous “Multi 21” fallout between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber — a chapter that resonates even more now, with Webber mentoring Oscar Piastri in his own intense intra-team title fight with Lando Norris.
Where Grid to Glory particularly shines is in how it brings historical incidents to life for newer audiences. Jacques cleverly contextualises key events — such as the 1982 South African Grand Prix driver strike — by reframing them in modern terms, imagining how a similar scenario might play out with today’s stars like Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton. It’s a narrative device that makes even the most entrenched F1 lore feel relevant and immediate.
There’s also genuine emotional weight in how Jacques handles the sport’s darker chapters. The deaths of Jim Clark, Gilles Villeneuve and Ayrton Senna are revisited with restraint and humanity, never sensationalised, but given the reflective space they deserve.
If there’s a limitation, it’s that no 75-chapter format could ever be truly comprehensive. Some omissions might leave fans debating what deserved inclusion — and a few inclusions may surprise. But that’s not really the point.
Jacques isn’t writing an encyclopaedia; he’s crafting a curated mosaic of defining moments. The result is a celebration rather than a catalogue, one that feels deliberately subjective and proudly personal.
That personality — the same calm, articulate storytelling that fans know from his F1TV commentary — permeates every page. It’s conversational without ever being simplistic, authoritative without being elitist. And it’s this accessibility that makes Grid to Glory such a success: a book that bridges eras and audiences with equal care.
As F1 continues to evolve through its most competitive and commercially driven era yet, Jacques’s book also prompts reflection on what’s still to come. If the first 75 years have given us these moments, what might the next 25 bring before the sport celebrates its centenary?
Grid to Glory doesn’t just look back — it quietly asks us to think ahead. And for fans old and new, that’s the mark of a truly great motorsport read.
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