Penguin Publishing; Esha Patel; One More Chapter; Forever
The long wait for the 2025 Formula 1 season is finally over — and almost nothing is the same.
Only two teams, McLaren and Aston Martin, have kept their same driver teams from 2024, and there are a slew of new rule changes to keep track of, including the removal of the fastest lap point. But one thing hasn’t changed: the way the sport inspires authors to write romances that take place on and off the circuit.
Simone Soltani, author of Cross the Line, decided to write an F1 romance because it’s her favorite sport, but even she learned a lot while researching her novel.
“I considered myself pretty well versed on the ‘lore’ within the sport, but I discovered things I had no idea about,” she told Writer’s Digest in August 2024. “Researching also gave me the opportunity to read all the F1 nonfiction that had been on my list for a long time, but that I had been putting off because I simply didn’t have the time to dive into them. Gotta love anything that gives you an excuse to read!”
Soltani is far from the only writer to find a spark of imagination in the high-speed world of elite auto racing. Keep scrolling for Us Weekly’s guide to the hottest F1 romance novels to read between Grand Prix:
‘Double Apex’ by Josie Juniper
Forever
Phaedra Morgan is a well-respected female engineer in the male-dominated world of F1, but her job gets tricky when she starts clashing with her team’s cocky new driver, Cosmin Ardelean. After the duo agree to a secret “arrangement” to improve their working relationship, they must decide whether there’s potential for something real.
Coming in Hot, the second book in Juniper’s Frontrunners series, will be released on June 17.
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‘Cross the Line’ by Simone Soltani
Berkley
F1 driver Dev Anderson is in need of a reputation reboot after a social media mishap, so he enlists his best friend’s little sister, Willow Williams, to revamp his professional image. What neither of them sees coming is their magnetic attraction to one another, which threatens to upend both of their careers.
Ride With Me, the second book in Soltani’s Lights Out series, will be released on May 20.
‘Offtrack’ by Esha Patel
Esha Patel
Diana Zahrani is an all-too-rare female F1 driver, and Miguel de la Fuente is a veteran driver who’s a favorite for the championship. As they clash throughout the season, they spark a romance and soon must decide which comes first: their love or their careers.
Overdrive, the second book in Patel’s Offtrack series, is out now.
‘Downforce’ by Hannah Lily
Amazon
Jonah Scott is an F1 driver in search of his first championship, and Olivia Fraser is a racing commentator looking to prove her interest in the sport isn’t just about the hot guys in the paddock. She and Jonah instantly clash, but a road trip across Europe soon brings them closer than they ever imagined.
‘Pole Position’ by Rebecca J. Caffery
One More Chapter
For those F1 fans who can’t get enough steamy slash fiction about their favorite drivers, this one’s for you. Caffery’s book follows four-time champ Kian Walker and rookie Harper James as they encounter each other on and off the track. The duo initially don’t mesh well, but it doesn’t take long for them to prove the old adage that opposites attract.
‘A Man’s World’ by Grace Newman
Box Box Publishing
Georgia Dubois is the (fictional) Valkyrie racing team’s first female driver, but she’s still fighting off the perception that a woman can’t do what the old guard believes is a man’s job. Her team’s solution? Have her date fellow driver Luca Rossi, a playboy who’s in need of an image adjustment.
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‘Retrograde’ by Emilee Carter
Penguin Publishing
Longtime friends Brett Anderson and Lucie Carolan have spent 10 years working together for Revolution Racing, with him driving and her serving as the team’s social media manager. After an injury forces Brett to take some time off, Lucie joins him during his recovery — and they finally have some time to figure out what to do with their feelings for each other.
Carter has another F1 romance, Rush, due out on August 7.
‘Lights Out’ by Kayla James
Amazon
Blake is a female F1 driver who dreams of going pro, but when she finally gets her chance, she finds out her new teammate, Ryder, happens to be her childhood crush. While Ryder tries to cement his family legacy on the track, he must contend with his burgeoning feelings for Blake — and the realization that his priorities may have changed.
The second book in James’ The Grid series, Jump Start, is out now.
‘Drive Me Crazy’ by Carly Robyn
Penguin Publishing
F1 champion Blake Hollis needs a fresh start, so he decides to write a tell-all autobiography that lays everything on the table. He enlists sportswriter Ella Gold to help him, and naturally, the sparks start flying.
The Drive Me series continues with Drive Me Wild and Drive Me Home, both of which are out now.
‘Out of Control’ by K. Bromberg
JKB Publishing
Oliver Rossi, the villain of Bromberg’s Full Throttle series, finally gets his own book. He’s known as the bad boy of the racetrack, but Sofia Navarro is determined to make him boyfriend material — even as he does his best to live up to his reputation.
Out of Control is the last book in the Full Throttle quartet, which also includes Off the Grid, On the Edge and Over the Limit.
‘Slipstream’ by Madge Meril
Courtesy of Simon & Schuster
Lilah Graywood is a documentary filmmaker forced to make a career pivot that involves filming an F1 team, even though she hates the sport. Instead of pouting, though, she decides to make the best of it by collaborating with the team’s reserve driver, Arthur Bianco. Together, they hatch a plan (involving a fake relationship, of course) to get revenge and prove their worth in their respective fields.
Slipstream will be released on May 20.
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‘Throttled’ by Lauren Asher
Courtesy of Sourcebooks
Veteran F1 driver Noah Slade has been spending time with his teammate’s sister, Maya Alatorre, and he’s catching feelings. They both know a relationship is a terrible idea, but they can’t stay away from each other.
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Asher’s Dirty Air series also includes Collided, Wrecked and Redeemed, all of which are out now.
‘Not So Fast’ by Karen Booth
Courtesy of Afterglow Books
Mia Neal, host of a popular F1 podcast, has never shied away from sharing her hottest takes about her favorite sport, but she starts to regret her words when her opinions on driver Xander Bishop go viral. While she expects drama to pop off when they meet in real life, she instead discovers that they share an impossible-to-ignore chemistry.
Not So Fast will be released on May 27.
