After two incursions into the realities of life as a Formula One mechanic, Matchett starts with a broader canvas this time around. Based around the premise of mechanic-turned-journo gets stranded, caffinated and drunk with a group of race fans at an airport and decides to conceptualise a Grand Prix car to help pass the time, he delivers a nose-to-tail exploration of how exactly each part of a Grand Prix car works. There are really few writers I can think of who are better qualified for this. Matchett is blessed with both an innate understanding of the technical aspects of a Formula One car, and the communication skills necessary to explain it all in layman's terms without actually dumbing it down too much. Presumably, he also has the alcohol tolerance levels required to withstand all the trips to the airport bar that apparently made this whole book possible.

Through the combination of the popularity of his previously published work (both in books and magazine contributions) and his TV spots, Matchett's profile has increased considerably since 'A Mechanic's Tale' first started walking off the shelves. A higher profile means more mail from readers/viewers ­ and the more feedback you have, the better idea you've got about what your audience actually wants. Matchett has been smart enough to pick up on this, and has made a point of addressing a number of technical issues that have traditionally been easily misunderstood by F1's general fan base. Consequently, there is very little wasted space to be found here. Every sentence moves things forward in some way, maintaining a pace that balances information and entertainment perfectly throughout. It may sound easy, but a lot of writers seem to struggle to keep that kind of consistency up for 220 or so pages, so when a book comes along that pulls it off it tends to stand out.

This book stems from one of those classic Sunday afternoon in the pub debates ­ how would you go about building the perfect Formula One car? My solution would simply be to kidnap Ferrari's brains trust and beat it out of them, so it is lucky that it was Matchett and not myself that was stranded at JFK airport that night.

Matchett approaches the problem by starting with the absolute fundamentals ­ the chassis ­ and goes from there. Along the way, he goes to great lengths to explain not just what exactly each part is, but how it has evolved into its current form. But one of this book's strengths is that it goes beyond simply telling you what pushrod suspension is (and why it killed the pullrod alternative stone dead), it also shows you exactly how it fits in with all of the other parts of the car that interact with it. This dual approach of looking at the various bits and pieces as both individual entities and as parts of a unified whole is an area where many other technical F1 books fall down, yet it is one of the key aspects that allows 'The Chariot Makers' to present F1 technology in such an accessible way.

Also included are a series of well-selected photos that complement the text extremely well. For example, if you're one of the thousands out there who are still struggling to get a grasp on all this single-keel/twin-keel business that everyone keeps quacking on about, then you'll find the back-to-back shots of each configuration extremely helpful. Matchett also makes good use of his connections and archived interview material to wheel out some fabulous input from the guys at the coalface. Take, for example, Ross Brawn's take on the traction control debate:

"The fact that is not generally understood is that the car and the engine are developed to take advantage of TC. For instance, our engine characteristics are different now to what they were in the non-TC era. The current engine can compromise drivability for performance because the TC will cope. This affects bore/stroke ratio; cam timing; throttle mechanism; induction and exhaust system design, etc.

"This is what causes the huge frustration when some teams tell Max that they can 'turn it off'. It can be done but the teams who have taken the system and car to the next level are particularly shafted ­ and those who have not had the ambition or the capacity to develop, their cars are less affected." (p. 192-193).

Complaints? I tried to come up with something, honest, but Matchett hasn't given me much to work with. In the past, I have criticised him for a tendency to occasionally over-write, and I think he does fall into this every now and again in this latest book. That's a purely stylistic thing though, and it's unlikely that many other people would even notice it.