Assorted personalities compete for the Formula 1 World championship.

Terrific race action diluted by the offscreen soap-operish goings on of the drivers and their partners. Many real drivers and many real races were filmed for the movie from the real 1966 Grand Prix. Kudos to Frankenheimer for avoiding rear projection.

In some ways the plot predicts that of the real life story depicted years later in Ron Howard's Rush, i.e. an injured driver makes a comeback against the odds, fueled by the desire to beat a rival. Life imitates art.