What I've Learnt: Sir Jackie Stewart

GROWING UP?  I don’t think I’ve ever grown up. My parents were country people, good people. I was the second son of my parents. My brother was a lot older than I was, so I might have been a mistake. An error, let’s call it.

NOT MANY PEOPLE REMEMBER MY COMPETITIVE SHOOTING DAYS but it was a great benefit to my career. It taught me how to avoid making mistakes. When you are trap shooting and you miss the target, you never get it back.

I NEVER OWNED A CAR, REALLY. My father had a garage. And my mother was a very good driver. I drove their cars. I had an Austin, a little sports car. But I never had fancy cars.

WHEN I FIRST SAT INSIDE A FORMULA 1 CAR, I TOLD MYSELF: This is nice.

NOTHING CAN PREPARE YOU FOR A CRASH AT 150 MILES AN HOUR. In a racing car, you can make a mistake, a small mistake and you just can’t go back.

THE MOST UNFORGIVING F1 CIRCUIT was the Nürburgring. Unquestionably the most demanding racetrack that’s ever been in the history of the sport. It was the greatest racetrack in the world. And I won there twice.

THERE’S A REASON I CHAMPIONED SAFETY AND SPEED ON THE F1 TRACK. It was hideously dangerous. Motor racing was going faster and faster. Aerodynamics were becoming an important element. And nobody was doing anything. In fact, almost all of my friends were killed. So, I took on the responsibility of improving the facilities in Formula 1. But the cockpit of a Formula 1 car today is a survival cell.

I HAVE ONE OF THE BEST WIN RECORDS IN SINGLE-SEATER RACING. My greatest strength as a driver was my first sport: shooting. I learned how to try to win properly and how to not behave badly when you weren’t winning.

I ALWAYS HAVE A WATCH ON ME. For men, there’s nothing more appealing than being able to have a watch at the level of a Rolex. It is the biggest and the best in the world. It also had good vision with people who would represent them, whether it was Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus for golf or the great tennis player Rod Laver.

MY RELATIONSHIP WITH ROLEX IS ONE OF THE OLDEST. I was very lucky to be close to some very successful people who were my heroes. Whether it was the movie industry or film stars. The sport became something that I could be proud of. Today, here I am (in India), in a completely different part of the world. It wouldn't have happened had it not been for my relationship with Rolex.

I HAVE A CERTAIN SENSE OF STYLE. THE TARTAN, FOR EXAMPLE. It's colourful, it's glamorous, it's exciting.

DO I HAVE ANY REGRETS? No. Losing friends unnecessarily because the racetracks were not cared for, that is the only thing. The rest of my life has been with wonderful people. You must choose the people you are with.

WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT F1 AND SIR JACKIE STEWART, I want to be remembered more than anything else for changing the world of safety in motorsports. It wasn’t just Formula One. It was all across.

ONE OTHER THING. You must be able to read your own autograph.

As told to Nitin Sreedhar.

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