Jody Scheckter

Interesting facts

Early in his career he was notorious for reckless driving: after a 1973 collision Emerson Fittipaldi publicly called him a 'madman' who was 'a menace to himself and everybody else,' and a Silverstone spin that triggered a mass pile-up led the drivers' association to demand his removal, with McLaren benching him for four races. Witnessing François Cevert's fatal crash at Watkins Glen in 1973 became his turning point, transforming him from a wild risk-taker into a disciplined, calculating competitor. Born in East London, South Africa, in 1950, he remains the only African-born driver ever to win a Formula One World Championship or Grand Prix. His first win came for Tyrrell at the 1974 Swedish Grand Prix, and in 1976 he became the only driver ever to win a race in the unconventional six-wheeled Tyrrell P34, even though he later dismissed the car as 'a piece of junk.' In his 1979 title-winning season alongside Gilles Villeneuve, he won at Monaco from pole and then at Monza, clinching the championship two races early with that popular home victory for Ferrari. After a disastrous title defence in 1980, just two points and a failure to even qualify in Canada, he retired, explaining that with drivers dying every year and the championship already won, the magic had gone. After racing he built a firearms-training simulation company into a business worth over £100 million, then bought a Hampshire estate to run as an organic, biodynamic farm that he later showcased on British television. Jody Scheckter raced in Formula 1 from 1972 to 1980, across 9 seasons as a South African driver. He won the World Championship once, in 1979. He scored a total of 246 championship points over his career.