Article and photos by Neil Young, Moto|ology Contributor
My wife, Ruth met her girlfriend Diane when Diane was a dancercise fitness instructor.
Sometime later, Ruth mentioned that a close friend of Diane’s was the author of several books, and he had something to do with racing, in particular, Formula 1.
“Really?” I said.
Then, after asking a few pertinent questions I realized that friend “Gerry” was none other than Gerry Donaldson, an author I had already heard of, and someone whose modern career was being a scribe for the Formula One circus.
This was also the same guy who provided the racing insights during CBC and CBS television broadcasts of Canadian Grand Prix races, ably standing in for Murray Walker, James Hunt or David Coulthard who, in turn, presided over the non-North American races.
Through Ruth and Diane’s friendship I met Gerry and we became friends, naturally sharing some very common interests in motorsports.
I must say that it was our relationship that brought me back to F1 in the ‘90’s.
Following the tragic 1982 death of Gilles Villeneuve I lost a great deal of interest in the sport. Gilles, my hero, was one of too many drivers who gave up their lives chasing the F1 world championship.
When not in Toronto in their cozy Berkley St. condo, Gerry and his now wife Diane would spend the best part of each F-1 season ensconced in a quaint stone cottage in the Cotswold’s, to be better available for the crucial European races. For many years and up to until quite recently, Gerry would travel to every F1 race all over the world, every season, starting in 1977.
Gerry started covering F1 as his specialty in 1977, attending Gilles Villeneuve’s series debut in a McLaren at England’s Silverstone Circuit. It was later that same year I watched our home-town hero’s Canadian and Ferrari F1 debut at Mosport. Gilles took over the ex-Lauda car as Niki quit Ferrari after the Watkins Glen race, having secured the World Championship. Although Gilles retired his ill-handling car when its drive shaft failed on lap 76 of 80, he had completed enough laps to be classified as finishing 12th. Crazily, only 7 cars of the 25 starters were running at the end of that race! And I was there too.
Gerry kept up with our favourite Ferrari-driving Canadian. In 1989 Gerry completed his compelling biography of Gilles Villeneuve, The Life of the Legendary Racing Driver.
In the book and then again to me personally, Gerry poignantly and graphically described Gilles’ death. Gerry was right there, one of the first on the scene… “Nothing could be done”.
Since the late eighties, Gerry’s numerous books eloquently and compellingly described the personalities and a world remote from the everyday humdrum we mere mortals experience, and the larger-than-life people that occupied that exotic world.
In his books Gerry described the glamorous and sometimes ugly world of Formula 1.
In “1990 Grand Prix People: Revelations from Inside the Formula 1 Circus” Gerry presented a composition of more than a hundred mini-bios of prominent figures. This book raised his profile among insiders and outsiders alike.
Other books about the sports followed: 1998’s West McLaren Mercedes: Teamwork, 1999’s British American Racing: From Dream to Reality, 2002’s Formula One: Glory Glamour and Gold, also in 2002, Formula One: The Autobiography (as Editor).
These books give candid insights into the supercharged, ultra-competitive and exotic racing world of F1, warts and all.
His biographical descriptions of the careers and lives of both Gilles and Jacques Villeneuve, James Hunt, David Coulthard and Juan Migel Fangio are amazing and absolutely worth the read.
Gerry did not restrict his talents to race car drivers as his books on Canadian bicycle champ Steve Bauer and Steve Podborski (ghost written) are illuminating.
Doing a complete F1 grand tour for a season is a retirement ambition that has eluded me to this point and sadly will probably continue to do so.
But, in part, thanks to Gerry, my wife Ruth and I have made it to quite a few different F1 races, often meeting up with Gerry and Diane, sometimes to share accommodation with them, like a beautiful villa in Ville-France-Sur-Mer, a short train ride from Monaco, or the splendid and timeless Palace Hotel, lakeside in Como, very handy to the Italian GP at Monza.
On one occasion, while visiting with them in the Cotswolds, Gerry and I made the trek (he drove my rental car fearlessly) to Castle Combe for a vintage British meet. What a wonderful experience it was to spend hours in conversation with this man. The racing included a session only for 120, 140 and 150 Jaguar XK’s. All were roadsters and not a rollover bar was in sight! That was in 1996 and that is where I saw my first Lotus Elise, an incredible design, seemingly years before its time! Gerry agreed!
Gerry juggled many jobs as he pursued his career. As well as writing books voraciously, Gerry ghostwrote an incisive syndicated newspaper column for James Hunt that ran for years. He also wrote for and edited a racing news house-organ for Honda when they were heavily involved in F1 and were supplying engines to BAR and Jordan. Honda’s F1 involvement ended 2008, as did Gerry’s job with them, when the Japanese laws prevented Honda from participating with tobacco companies which were the BAR sponsor. BAR eventually was displaying Lucky Strike livery, quite tacky IMHO, but JPS Black and Gold was, OK?… of course!
The Honda job and writing were additional duties on top of his television colour commentator appearances. Most recently he had a F1 blog on the internet. It is still functioning and worth visiting. See it at: https://www.f1speedwriter.com/
Recently, Gerry was writing driver biographies for the official F1 website.
Gerry was a quiet, soft-spoken guy, but like any scribe I have ever met, chocked full of wonderful stories! You only had to mention a skiff of an autosport incident or idea, and he had tales abundant to follow your lead. Always compelling, told with candor and great humour.
And of course he had opinions about all the F1 characters! It was always illuminating to get his “spin” on things, be it Flavio Briatore at the center of the 2008 Formula 1 scandal, where Briatore encouraged Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash or describing DC (David Coulthard) as the “Nicest man in F1”.
My son Kevin, who lives in downtown Toronto, but works in our suburb of Georgetown, had the pleasant opportunity to drive Gerry from the city to our country home for one of our “Motorhead Evenings” back in 2019. They had met before when Kevin joined Diane, Gerry, Ruth and I for lunch a few years earlier. What Kevin remembers about the drive back and forth was that he really enjoyed Gerry’s company and conversation: Gerry knowing “everything” about F1 accompanied with great stories.
Also, there was the fact that Gerry said riding co-pilot with Kevin reminded him of riding with James Hunt! Kevin does not remember asking or finding out what the context was, but he said he remembers clearly taking it as flattery! Does anyone remember what a “character” “Hunt the Shunt” was?
In recent years, Gerry received a couple of notable honours from F1’s governing body, the FIA. He was inducted as part of the Formula 1 Paddock Hall of Fame’s class of 2018 and received a lifetime media pass from the FIA. Post-COVID the pass provided easier access to the reinstated F1 races.
Gerry was also inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) as part of the inaugural Media class in 2020. He attended the ceremony and was a gracious recipient, saying that he was very happy to be recognized by those in his own country.
Gerry was exactly 10 years older than me (I have reached a ripe old age of 77) and in the last couple of years he seemed a bit more reclusive as far as going out socially. He attended fewer F1 weekends, and his health was slowly deteriorating.
Gerry will be missed by the F1 community as a person who was always genuinely interested in listening to their concerns, validating their passions and distributing their stories to the world.
Gerry will be greatly missed by the rest of us, the readers of his remarkable stories and indeed, all fans of motorsports.
My friend, David Gerald Craig Donaldson, passed away at the age of 87 on December 14, 2025, in Toronto at St Mike’s hospital after a brief illness.
As well as writing for himself, Gerry wrote, or ghost wrote over 20 books. Here’s a list of some of his principle works:
The Walking Book, 1979
An explanation of the physiology of walking and its benefits, as compared with those of other aerobic exercises.
Books: Their history, art, power, glory, infamy and suffering according to their creators, friends and enemies, 1981
Books studies the effects the printed word has had on society and history from Mark Antony’s gift to Cleopatra of 200,000 volumes for the fabled library in Alexandria to some very weird things like 1980’s “Do It Yourself Brain Surgery”.
The Grand Prix of Canada, 1984
This book looks at the Canadian Grand Prix events from the first at Mosport Park in 1967 to 1983’s event at Le Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Donaldson lists all of the finishers and details of each race and includes excellent photos in both black & white and colour.
Podborski! 1987
Gerald Donaldson ghostwrote this autobiography of noted Canadian Olympic skiing champion Steve Podborski.
Steve Bauer on Bicycling: A Cyclist’s Sourcebook, 1989
Gerald Donaldson co-wrote this informational and instructional study of cycling.
Gilles Villeneuve, The Life of the Legendary Racing Driver, 1989
This biography by Gerald Donaldson covers the life and career of Gilles Villeneuve, the Canadian F1 racing legend known for his dashing driving style while with Ferrari.
Grand Prix People: Revelations from Inside the Formula 1 Circus 1990
A very entertaining collection of more than a hundred mini-bios of prominent F1 figures and personalities that raised Donaldson’s notoriety and profile among insiders and outsiders alike.
James Hunt: The Biography 1990
A detailed look at the life and times of this fascinating F1 driver.
Villeneuve: My First Season In Formula 1, 1990
Gerald Donaldson co-wrote this autobiography of the son of the legendary racing driver Gilles Villeneuve. Jacques quickly followed his father’s footsteps, and in this book, he brings to life the highs and lows of his career while on the way to winning the 1997 World Driver’s Championship.
Villeneuve: Winning in Style 1997
Another autobiographical book by Jacques Villeneuve, co-written with Gerald Donaldson. It chronicles Villeneuve’s sensational debut season in F1 driving for Williams, where he won four Grands Prix and finished as the runner-up to the championship.
David’s (Coulthard) Diary: The Quest for the Formula 1 1998 World Championship 1998
Covering the 1998 Formula One Season, this book offers an interesting glimpse of the day-to-day life of a driver of some of the fastest machines on earth. David Coulthard, with co-writer Gerry Donaldson, takes us through the ups and downs of his quest to win the 1998 Grand Prix world championship.
Teamwork: West McLaren Mercedes, 1998
A behind-the-scenes biography of the Formula 1 team by author Gerald Donaldson details the inner workings, key leadership, and collaborative environment of the McLaren Mercedes squad during their West-sponsored era under the leadership of Ron Dennis.
British American Racing: From Dream to Reality, 1999
This motorsport book written by journalist Gerald Donaldson with photography by Gianni Giansant chronicles the turbulent inaugural 1999 Formula One season of the British American Racing (BAR) team.
Formula One: Glory Glamour and Gold, 2002
Gerald Donaldson comprehensively chronicles over 50 years of Formula 1 history, blending personal accounts from drivers, designers, and team bosses with hundreds of rare archival illustrations.
Formula One: The Autobiography, 2002
Gerald Donaldson acted as editor for this concise compendium that tells the history of the sport through the direct words of key figures, including drivers like Jackie Stewart and Michael Schumacher, the team bosses, and their racing engineers.
Fangio, The Life Behind the Legend, 2003
This highly acclaimed biography chronicles the extraordinary journey of Juan Manuel Fangio, the legendary Argentine driver widely considered one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers in history.