Jackie Stewart: drivers are not “bulletproof”
The critical health condition of Jules Bianchi, following his accident in Japan, has sparked an awareness of the dangers of F1 among current drivers. For former drivers, like Jackie Stewart or Alain Prost, this is unfortunately not a surprise.
At 75 years old, Jackie Stewart is a living legend in Formula 1. The Scotsman won 3 world championship titles between 1965 and 1973, and an impressive 27 victories in just 99 Grand Prix starts.
In 2013, he had already stated that Kubica’s crash in Montreal and Webber’s crash at the end of the straight in Valencia were miracles. Stewart believed that this gave a false impression of safety. He recently stated on the BBC radio show 5 Live F1 that the Bianchi accident likely prompted an awareness among the drivers that they are not bulletproof.
He highlights a risk-taking by current drivers: « Liberties are taken today that we certainly would never have taken in the past years. The wheels that collide and the overtaking maneuvers so close can easily end in tears. »
We remember Riccardo Patrese’s Williams (Estoril 1992) and Christian Fittipaldi’s Minardi (Monza 1993) which literally took off following minor collisions with another car. This year, in Formula Renault 3.5, an impressive accident involving Sorensen and Jafaar at Monza could have ended badly for both drivers.
Jackie Stewart is part of an era when sex was safe and cars were dangerous. With my wife, we counted 57 acquaintances who died [in motor racing], including 5 friends among whom were his teammate and protégé François Cevert as well as Jochen Rindt, the only posthumous F1 world champion following a fatal accident at Monza (before the end of the 1970 season).
The Scotsman consistently worked for safety in Formula 1 throughout his career, at a time when the circuits were surrounded by bales of straw to slow down cars in case of an accident. Stewart even brought his personal doctor to the races, particularly due to a bad experience during an accident at Spa-Francorchamps in 1966. He remained trapped in his car for long minutes before spectators managed to get him out. After managing to request an ambulance (by telegraph), it got lost on the way to the hospital.
« We should not forget that the flip side is that motorsports are dangerous. Unfortunately – it’s a terrible thing to say – it probably took a disaster to remind everyone of what you cannot and should not do. »
