When Stewart won his first World Championship, he and I compiled a book. Now it’s back (on sale SHORTLY), redesigned, otherwise scarcely changed. A royalty on every copy will go to RACE AGAINST DEMENTIA, a charity registered in England and Wales (1165559) and in Scotland (SC052594). It tells how Stewart started in motor racing, then won more than half the Grands Prix of 1969. This is his own personal account of what he was doing and thinking throughout eleven championship races.
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The grand prix at the Emilio-Romagna Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari showed how much safer Formula 1 is now. Paying homage to the two fatal accidents 30 years ago, in what we used to call the San Marino Grand Prix, Imola, was perfectly proper. The previous 30 years 1994-1964 were melancholy. Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt, Lorenzo Bandini and many more died. On the eve of what would have been Jackie Stewart’s hundredth grand prix these included his team member François Cevert.
Here’s what he thought on safety in 1969:
“People do not know what it feels like to be at 150 mph other than on a straight test track. My job is to race. And if I can drive fast enough to win a Grand Prix or the World Championship, I think those few critical journalists must accept I am not a coward or have insufficient skill. They would be critical of me for going slowly and talking so much about safety. I submit they have no case.
It might disappoint those who claim Nuvolari or Caracciola or Fangio never complained. Fangio thinks Spa too dangerous to race on today. He told me that before the Italian Grand Prix when we had dinner in the Villa d'Este in Como. Fangio is sensible enough to realise that things are changing all the time. Journalists are not using the same cameras they used ten years ago. We are not using the same cars. Things change and the modern way to go about motor racing is to introduce as much safety into it as you possibly can. Those who criticise may continue but they will seem merely eccentric.”
I am sure “Critical journalists,” included the hitherto well-regarded Denis Jenkinson of Motor Sport.