This two disc DVD set is a must for Formula One fans. It is a full review of the 2007 race season, covering the wins, losses, crashes and controversies that occurred throughout the year. Each race even has a qualifying lap covered move by move by the driver, where he’ll explain why he did what he did and how the conditions affected his time. It’s amazing and insightful, and if you are a race fan you’ll learn things that just aren’t possible to learn any other way.
Naturally, there’s a downside to this; it won’t appeal to anyone not into racing. It’s doubtful your average football fan who knows nothing about downforce is going to care one bit about teammates holding each other up on pit stops in order to sabotage qualifying times, but that’s the kind of thing race fans crave to know more about. This obviously has a limited, but rabid audience, and that’s exactly what the makers of this DVD were shooting for. To sweeten the deal, there’s a sizable amount of extras, including exclusive interviews, on-board footage and more.
Formula One racing isn’t nearly as popular as NASCAR in America. That has as much to do with history as it does American values (many NASCAR fans consider F1 racers to be little more than pampered drivers, a criticism that has also been launched at their own superstars like Jeff Gordon). Any true racing fan, however, will see value in these DVDs, and it may even convert a few die-hard stock car fans, too, as the only thing that really separates the drivers in these two divisions is country of origin. (And that’s pretty much out the window as far as NASCAR is concerned, as it is seeing its influx of open-wheel drivers from around the world.)
If you are a race fan, or know of one, this should be considered a mandatory purchase. It will get repeated viewings and will provide endless hours of entertainment and armchair analysis. And as far as year-in-review films go, this is the best I’ve ever seen.
