The Flying Scotsman - Legendary Formula One racing driver, a staunch advocate for safety and a romantic soul at heart - Sir Jackie Stewart is certainly one of the most exceptional individuals to have graced the world of motorsports
There are many legends in the annals of Formula One, but there are very few who can
claim to have had an influence on the very nature of the sport itself. And Sir Jackie
Stewart is one whose influence goes far beyond carving his name amongst the most talented
drivers to have ever graced the sport. Sir Jackie’s influence goes far beyond merely
inspiring future generations of racing drivers. Apart from the engineers and track
designers who have dedicated their lives to making Formula One as safe as it is today, if
it hadn’t been for advocates of safety like Sir Jackie, the sport might still have
pretty much remained in the dark ages.
Born in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland in 1939, into a family of car dealers and
amateur racers, it was no wonder that Sir Jackie Stewart found his calling on the race
track. But surprisingly enough, it wasn’t the world of motor racing where he first
made his mark. Diagnosed with dyslexia and unable to continue his schooling past 16 years
of age, Sir Jackie put his energy into skeet shooting and won many accolades in the sport
at the national and European levels, eventually representing British Trap Shooting team in
the 1960 Summer Olympics. After racing for a few local teams in the early part of the
60’s, it was finally 1964 when Sir Jackie got a chance to race Formula 3 for Tyrell.
His debut race was utter domination and Sir Jackie quickly earned the moniker “The
Flying Scotsman” as he took the F3 championship in his debut year and graduated to
Formula One the next year itself, having secured a drive with BRM alongside Graham
Hill.
Sir Jackie is a racing driver from an era most of us have heard about, but
never really experienced for ourselves. At a time when chances of being killed in a crash
for any Formula One driver who raced for five years were two in three, he can really be
considered to be one having his guardian angel looking over his shoulder full time. A
crash in 1966 at the rain-soaked Spa-Francorchamps circuit left Sir Jackie pinned in his
car doused in petrol leaking from the fuel tank. Lucky to have survived this brush with
death, he dedicated his life to improving safety in the sport. But anyone who thought
these were the ramblings of a gutless driver was quickly silenced by his track record and
his obvious bravery behind the wheel. Driving on the Nordschleife circuit in a torrential
downpour, with a broken wrist, during the 1968 German GP, and winning the race by more
than four minutes is a clear testament to this. And let’s not forget his three World
Championships and 27 race wins out of 99 race starts.
Though he was a man hardened by seeing as well as facing death on a regular
basis, in 1973, when his teammate and friend François Cevert was killed in a crash
during practice in the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Sir Jackie decided to call it quits.
But he never stopped his pursuit of improving safety in the sport and pretty much every
Formula One driver since after his time who has shunted it into a wall doing triple digit
speeds and has walked away unscathed owes his life to Sir Jackie Stewart.
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