The story follows the fate of four Formula One drivers through a fictionalized version of the 1966 Formula One season: Jean-Pierre Sarti, Pete Aron, Scott Stoddard, and Nino Barlini. Jean-Pierre Sarti, a Frenchman who has been World Champion twice, is nearing the end of his career and is feeling increasingly cynical about racing itself. Pete Aron is an American attempting to repeat past successes and overcome his reputation as a reckless, second-tier driver. Scott Stoddard is a British driver recuperating from a bad crash that left him hospitalized; he becomes dogged by recurrent pains while dealing with the emotional turmoil of his rocky marriage. Nino Barlini, a charismatic yet arrogant Italian racer, is a promising rookie and former world motorcycle champion )).
The film’s production team began by using connections to Grand Prix drivers such as Dan Gurney, Carroll Shelby and former Grand Prix World Champion Phil Hill, who all assisted them in trying to break through an otherwise reluctant European establishment. Yamura Motors is a fictional team )), and the producers struck a deal with Bruce McLaren's newly formed McLaren team to have his car, the McLaren M2B, painted with Yamura's colors. The paint scheme used was designed to resemble that used on the contemporary Honda RA272 cars )). Phil Hill, the 1961 World Champion, drove a modified camera car during actual Grand Prix races at Monaco and Spa to capture realistic racing footage.
The story concludes at the Italian Grand Prix, with Sarti’s wife Monique showing up just before the race and confronting Louise. Sarti’s car has technical difficulties at the race's start, and he is killed in a spectacular crash. In recognition, his Ferrari teammate, Barlini, is flagged off the course, resulting in a tight race between Aron and Stoddard to the finish line, Aron getting the checkered flag. The film ends with Aron alone, walking along the circuit of the final racetrack.
Circuits featured in the film include Circuit de Monaco, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Circuit Park Zandvoort, Brands Hatch, and Autodromo Nazionale Monza. The Nürburgring, Watkins Glen International, and the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez were all mentioned in the film but there was no footage shown. The camera cars used during actual Grand Prix races were a Lotus 25 Climax at Monaco and a McLaren M2B Ford at Spa, both driven by Phil Hill.
Director John Frankenheimer later said when he made the film he had the "choice of making a Grand Hotel type picture or a Test Pilot type picture" and he chose the former. James Garner proved a competent driver, training with Bob Bondurant, and even performed his own stunt in a scene involving a fuel leak and fire. Garner’s car was fitted with a higher rollbar and had no seat, since he was too tall to fit in a contemporary F3 car. Brian Bedford could not drive at all and was only ever in the car for close-up shots. The blue and red helmet design that James Garner's character uses is often confused with that of Chris Amon, though the colours are reversed.
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