In 2019, Lauren Asher began watching the first season of the Netflix docuseries "Drive to Survive.” The show - which chronicles the globe-trotting, glamorous world of Formula 1 racing, filled with luxury-brand sponsors, teammate drama and European car manufacturers - captivated her in a way she was not expecting. By the time she reached the final episode, she jotted down a late-night note on her iPhone with a quick idea for a novel: "A romance between a driver’s sister and his rival teammate would be fun,” she wrote.
"I could see it so clearly,” Asher said during a recent Zoom interview. "That idea was what really sparked my interest in writing about F1.” About a year later, Asher self-published her first novel, "Throttled.
” "I just wanted to try and have fun with it, a passion project,” Asher said. "And if people didn’t like it, I wouldn’t do it again.” As it turned out, people did, especially on TikTok, where praise can turn little-known books into bestsellers.
This year, with Formula 1 booming in popularity in the United States, a traditional publisher picked up the paperback rights to widen its distribution. Sports romance novels have gained considerable traction in recent years, with hockey famously emerging as the most popular subgenre. But few sports, in general, are rising as rapidly as Formula 1, which just wrapped up an exciting 2024 season that featured three races in the United States, in Austin, Miami and Las Vegas.
The sport’s ascent is par.
