A book about the career of journalist Roger Benoit has been published in Switzerland.

      Throughout the history of Formula 1, there have already been 1152 races, and among the journalists covering the events of the World Championship, there are true veterans. For example, Roger Benoit, as a correspondent for the Swiss newspaper Blick, has attended 825 Grands Prix since the 1970s, and his colleagues decided that such a career deserves a separate book.

      Recently, a book originally titled Formel Wahnsinn, which can be roughly interpreted as "Madness in the Realm of Formula 1," went on sale in bookstores across Europe. The author is listed as Daniel Loy, the deputy sports editor at Blick, but, of course, Benoit rightfully deserves to be considered a co-author, as the book recounts his adventures during trips to races, various stories, sometimes quite dramatic, and, of course, the scandals that have always been plentiful in Formula 1.

      As indicated in the announcement dedicated to the new release from Beobachter Edition, it also contains a lot of statistical information and impressive photographs, including from the journalist's personal archive. Roger Benoit himself said about the book: "I just wanted to observe what was happening. I never thought that thousands of stories would accumulate in the end, but that's how it turned out."

      Here are just a few stories included in this book…

      Smoking is harmful

      The fourth race that Benoit attended was the 1970 Italian Grand Prix held in Monza.

      "On Saturday morning, I was sitting on the pit wall with Jochen Rindt. We were smoking, he a cigarette and I a cigar, and talking about the unreliability of Lotus cars. Jackie Stewart walked by. 'Quit smoking immediately or you won't live long,' he told Jochen."

      Three hours later, Rindt died, but of course, not because of this bad habit, but as a result of an accident when his Lotus 72C went off the track at the Parabolica corner. The Austrian entered history as the only driver to posthumously become World Champion.

      How Benoit saved Fittipaldi

      In the 1970s, the Canadian Grand Prix took place at the Mosport International Raceway in Ontario, and Benoit was acquainted with a police officer named Nancy, who lived and worked in the area.

      "One day she offered me to go on patrol with her, and I gladly accepted the offer. So we were driving in her patrol car on the road near the racetrack when someone caught up with us at high speed. Nancy turned on the siren, stopped the car – and guess who got out? Emerson Fittipaldi!

      When he saw me, he was initially furious. But I explained to Nancy that this was a Formula 1 driver, and they usually drive fast. So she didn't give him too hefty a fine.

      'I don't know what you were doing in that police car, but you saved me,' he told me later."

      Landing in the middle of a parking lot

      "Once in Imola, we arranged to meet Gilles Villeneuve, and I invited him to dinner. It was already 9 PM, it had gotten dark, and he still hadn't shown up. Suddenly, there was a loud noise nearby, and everyone looked out the windows. It turned out that Villeneuve's helicopter had landed right in the middle of the parking lot, and he jumped out with a flashlight. Today, you would be arrested for that, but back then it was normal."

      A night in the casino

      "In Monaco around midnight at the famous Loews hotel, I ran into Ayrton Senna, who asked what I was doing there. I replied that I was going to play blackjack. He came with me, but since blackjack is too complicated for a beginner, we decided to play roulette instead. I suggested he bet 20 francs on 5, 7, 9, 11, and 14.

      Of course, the 'nine' came up, and he got a pile of chips. He asked, 'What now?' I explained that we would continue betting on the same numbers. 14 came up, he got another pile of chips, and again he asked, 'What now?'

      'Now the most important thing,' I said. 'Now we need to leave.'

      He looked at me in astonishment and laughed..."

      Bernie Ecclestone and James Hunt

      This took place in São Paulo before the 1976 Brazilian Grand Prix.

      "On Thursday before the Brazilian weekend, Bernie Ecclestone, McLaren boss Teddy Mayer, and James Hunt, his driver, were playing backgammon at the Hilton hotel.

      When around 1 AM the waiter was about to close the restaurant, Bernie asked him how much he earned in a month.

      '50 dollars,' the waiter replied. Then Bernie handed him a 100-dollar bill and said, 'Now stay here until we finish, and keep bringing us drinks and sandwiches.'

      When we finished at 4 AM, Hunt was in complete disarray: 'The first practice starts at 10!' But Bernie calmed him down: 'Not a problem at all, we'll meet at 8 AM in front of the hotel.'

      And when we showed up at the appointed time, there was already a police escort of five motorcycles and two patrol cars waiting. They turned on their blue lights and escorted us through the entire city. By the way, Hunt won the pole that weekend."