Triple World Champion Jackie Stewart is a true Formula 1 legend. Not only was the Scot one of the greatest racing drivers of all time, he pioneered the sport's drive to improve safety standards, became a success in the business world and returned to F1 to become a race-winning team owner. He's a figure that truly transcended his sport and who continues his association with F1 to this day.
Born in Dumbarton in June 1939, Stewart was an Olympic-standard clay pigeon shooter in his youth but, following the lead of his older brother Jimmy, turned to motorsport and started racing saloon cars with much early promise. So much so that team boss Ken Tyrrell selected him for his British F3 outfit for 1964 and the exciting young driver didn't disappoint, winning the prestigious title at a canter. But while driver and team owner would go on to enjoy stunning success together in F1, it was with BRM that the 26-year-old Stewart would make his step up to F1 with in 1965.
Wasting little time in demonstrating the same rifle-sight precision on the race track that had put him in contention for selection for the 1960 Olympics as a clay pigeon shooter, the Scot underlined his strength by winning on his debut appearance at the fearsome Monza track during the course of his rookie year, beating World Champion team-mate Graham Hill by three seconds. Four further podium finishes in that debut year saw him finish a brilliant third in the Championship . He would rarely be out of contention for the top honours during his career thereafter.
When Tyrrell entered F1 in conjunction with Matra in 1968, he unsurprisingly came calling for Stewart and in their first year the Scot went one better by finishing second overall after three victories. His progress was clear and a year later he was World Champion for the first time; six wins - including the British GP at Silverstone - were more than enough to see off the challenge of Jacky Ickx.
Further Championship success followed in 1971 and 1973, Stewart achieving six and five victories respectively during the two campaigns. He had conclusively established himself as the man to beat but prior to clinching his third crown had already decided to retire before season's end. His final race in the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen had been set to be his 100th, but he stopped at 99 after team-mate Francois Cevert was killed in a horrible accident during practice.
Such was the brutal nature of F1 at the time, Stewart had been forced to find a way to continue racing while dealing with grief as he lost a number of close racing friends and peers - including countryman Jim Clark - to deaths in racing accidents. Stewart had been fortunate to survive his own harrowing accident at Spa in 1966 when a sudden rain shower had left sent numerous cars spinning off the circuit, leaving Stewart in a ditch with his BRM crumpled round him. With no track-side medical assistance to speak of, Stewart was rescued from the wreckage by two fellow drivers and the experience told him that he had to act in a bid to improve safety standards.
Over the following years he pushed for improvements to both circuit infrastructure and the cars themselves and left a massive legacy in this area that F1 continues to benefit from to this day.
Once in retirement, Stewart, despite having earlier been diagnosed with dyslexia, enjoyed further success in the business world and built relationships with a number of blue-chip companies , notably Ford.
Knowing how the corporate world worked, the former champion returned to the sport as a team owner of his own Stewart Grand Prix squad nearly 25 years after his last race. With backing from Ford, Jackie and his son Paul quickly established the Milton Keynes-based outfit as a respectable operation and enjoyed two notable highs in their three seasons - finishing second with Rubens Barrichello at a rain-soaked Monaco in 1997 and then, in more changeable conditions, winning with Johnny Herbert at the Nurburgring in 1999 prior to selling the team outright to the car manufacturer who rebranded it as Jaguar and failed to enjoy the same kind of success.
Sir Jackie, who is also former president of Silverstone's owner the BRDC, continues to be a regular presence at grand prix circuits around the world and remains, in World Championship terms, the most successful British driver of all time. His record of 27 wins in 99 starts and three titles are testament to his peerless abilities as a driver, but his overall F1 legacy is even greater.
