Jackie Stewart can certainly be considered the first true professional driver in F1 History.
3 times world champion, he retired on the evening of his last world title, under dramatic circumstances. Indeed,
his teammate and close friend François Cevert, whom he considered to be
his successor, was killed during qualifications for the last Grand Prix of the
season which took place in the USA on the Watkins Glen circuit. Stewart
then decided not to start what would have been his 100th and last GP.
Indeed, he had just taken a few days before the difficult decision to
end his career there. "I had the pain of losing 57 friends in various accidents in competition" he declared following the death of Niki Lauda in 2019.
It is thanks to Stewart that safety on the circuits has evolved so much, since a time when motor racing was naturally associated with danger.
The
Scottish champion's philosophy was: "The goal is to win as slowly as
possible". This is how he described in a rather poetic way his fluid and
clean style. The secret to going fast but above all far.
Jackie
Stewart subsequently enjoyed a successful 2nd career commenting the most prestigious motorsport events and promoting some of the major automotive
companies involved in competition. He showed incredible analytical skills that none of his colleagues (former racing drivers that became also TV commentators) could match.
Unfortunately, his attempt to
launch his own F1 team did not meet with the expected success
despite a deserved victory in the 1999 European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. Just like another great champion having the
same reasoned and global approach of racing, Alain Prost
who, for his part, have had even less success in F1 as a team manager.
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