F1 Legends - Jody Scheckter

For 21 years between 1979 and 2000, South Africa's Jody Scheckter held something of a unique title - Ferrari's last World Champion. That Formula 1's most historic and successful team suffered a Drivers' Championship drought of two decades up until the start of Michael Schumacher's era of dominance in truth said more about their own performance and organisation through that period than it did about the calibre of some of the drivers that passed through Maranello. Nonetheless, it was a stark reminder that winning in F1 is never easy. Scheckter showed how it was done in 1979 and remains the only driver from his country to reign over the top level of motorsport. Given the special place Ferrari has in F1's history, becoming a World Champion while driving one of the famous scarlet cars invariably means a little bit more. Scheckter became the Italian marque's seventh champion but the fact he beat the hugely talented and highly regarded Gilles Villeneuve to do that in the same car gives his 1979 success extra historical kudos. His title-winning season was a model of points-scoring consistency - Scheckter won only three times but finished in the points in all but three of the 15 races. Yet that kind of reliability results-wise was a world away from the reputation he initially picked up in his early years in both junior racing and then F 1 when his aggressive style led him to be considered something of a wild man on the track thanks to some spectacular crashes. Indeed, in his very first national race, Scheckter was black flagged for dangerous driving - although he would also go on to quickly showcase his talents behind the wheel in the junior categories. He became South African Formula Ford champion in 1970 which earned him a 'Driver to Europe' scholarship and set him on the path to Britain. Having arrived in 1971, before the end of the following year the 22-year-old Scheckter was already making his grand prix debut with McLaren at the US Grand Prix - which he finished in an impressive ninth - and was given a handful of further appearances the following year, including his home race of South Africa when he qualified third only to later drop out with engine trouble. However, his next two appearances in France and Britain were dogged by controversy. After qualifying a stunning second in the first of these races at Paul Ricard, Scheckter took the lead from pole-sitter Jackie Stewart at the start but was soon somersaulting his way out of the action following a collision with World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, an incident which enraged the Brazilian. The young rookie then found himself in even more hot water at the next race at Silverstone when, at the end of the opening lap, he spun backwards through the pack coming out of the then fearsomely fast Woodcote corner and triggered a chain reaction around him that produced complete carnage and wiped out a large chunk of the field. Scheckter, who himself had slammed into the pit wall, was severely rebuked by his fellow drivers and McLaren stood him down for the next four races before he returned for the season's final leg in North America. While he didn't eliminate the wild mistakes thereafter - indeed on his return for McLaren in Canada he retired after a collision with Francois Cevert - he would begin to add consistency to his undoubted speed after being signed by Ken Tyrrell for 1974 to replace the retired Stewart. He had been meant to partner Cevert but the Frenchman was killed in a horrendous crash in practice in the final race of 1973 at Watkins Glen. The young Scheckter had been first driver on the scene and later said the accident had had a profound effect on him. Over the next three years at Tyrell, Scheckter would mature into an F1 race winner: winning twice, in Sweden and Britain, in that first campaign and then claiming a further victory apiece in his next two seasons. A switch to a restructured Wolf team for 1977 saw him win on his debut in Argentina - albeit aided by six cars ahead of him on the grid retiring - as two more wins and six further podium finishes saw him finish a career-high second in the Championship to Ferrari's Niki Lauda. After a less successful 1978, Ferrari would surprisingly turn to Scheckter to replace Carlos Reutemann and in his first year alongside Villeneuve his new-found measured style saw him pip the Canadian hotshot to the title by four points. The following season though was instantly forgettable: Ferrari suffered a humbling fall from grace, scoring just eight points all year, and champion Scheckter, having finished a lowly 19th in the standings, announce his retirement at the season's end at the age of 30. Post retirement Scheckter forged a career as a successful businessman, which helped him finance his two sons' motorsport careers. In more recent years, the likeable South African has become an acclaimed organic farmer and runs Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire. That he flourishes in an area far removed from the world of racing would be no surprise to those who saw him reach the very peak of F1.