MIKE HAWTHORN, BRITAIN'S FIRST WORLD MOTOR RACING CHAMPION, was internationally famous by the time of his death. The dashing young Englishman had just won an epic battle for the title against Stirling Moss in a classic last race duel; similar to that between James Hunt and Nicki Lauda in 1976, and Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in 2014.

However, back in the 1950s, Formula 1 was a quasi-amateur sport, in which prizes were modest, the risk of death unimaginably high and where there was scant reporting of the drivers' off-track activities.

Mike's penchant for fast driving was matched by an appetite for pretty girls, beer, aeroplanes and practical jokes - all of which got him into a great many scrapes. What usually got him out was his charm.

In this re-telling of Mike's story, 'Too Fast A Life' endeavours to paint an unbiased picture of a troubled young man, focusing more on feelings than feeler-gauges, and uniquely questions whether his life could have ended differently.