Jackie Stewart’s Emotional Formula 1 Story Coming to Sky
Author:
Roy Brindley
Formula 1 was on a high when an enthralling 2021 World Drivers’ Championship went down to a nail-biting final race of the year. The title was ultimately awarded – under highly controversial circumstances – to Max Verstappen.
Sadly, in comparison, the 2022 Formula 1 season quickly became anticlimactic. Max Verstappen landed his second world title with four races to spare, and the Dutchman won 15 of the season’s 22 races.
In 99 Formula 1 starts between 1965 and 1973, Jackie Stewart won 27 races and became a three-time World Champion. @GettyImages
Modern Formula 1 is synonymous with predictability. Mercedes dominated the sport between 2014 and 2021 – winning eight Constructors Championships and seven Drivers’ Championships. Beforehand it was Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel that claimed four consecutive World Drivers’ Championships.
But Formula 1 has not always been so uncompetitive, sterile, and safe. Over the Christmas period, a new documentary, ‘Stewart’ will highlight this by exploring one driver’s journey to becoming world champion during the fiery years of the premier motor sport.
An Excitement Rush With a Sad Conclusion
Using restored archive film, ‘Stewart’ chronicles Sir Jackie Stewart’s humble beginnings outside of Glasgow, the early years of his marriage to Helen, and the rush of excitement that heralded his first Formula 1 World Championship title in 1969.
But, underneath all this success was a secret that haunted him throughout his career: Stewart’s inability to read and write. The forthcoming documentary – which will debut on Sky Documentaries on December 30th – touches on this handicap. But primarily, it charts Sir Jackie Stewart’s most exhilarating races in Monaco, Silverstone, Monza and Mexico.
As the biography draws to a climax, the final chapter focuses on the 1973 season. Told through archive footage, it shows Stewart’s friendship with his teammate – Frenchman François Cevert – and, as racing fatalities increased, why Stewart decided to retire from the sport at the end of the year.
Cevert was to be his successor, but fate had other plans, and the documentary reaches a moving climax at the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen where the dashing 29-year-old Ceveret suffered a fatal crash.
Unseen Archive Helps to Produce Emotional Film
Until now, Stewart’s personal story has never been told. With exclusive access to an unseen personal archive, ‘Stewart’ is described by its makers as “an evocative and emotionally charged cinematic film”.
The feature-length documentary was written and directed by Patrick Mark (known for Fabergé: A Life of Its Own), produced by Sarah Bayntun and Gareth Dodds (Spitfire, Armstrong), and co-executive produced by Jackie’s son, Mark Stewart (The Last Man on the Moon, Gazza).
Mark Stewart was diagnosed with dyslexia in 1980. During the same year, his father was also confirmed to be suffering from the learning difficulty. His sibling, Paul, was the team principal of his father’s Stewart Grand Prix Formula One racing team between 1996 and 1999.
When Jaguar Morphed Into a Bull
At the end of 1999, Ford bought the team, and it was renamed Jaguar Racing. Five years later the team was sold again. Energy drink company Red Bull GmbH was the new owner, and it rebranded the Milton Keynes-based outfit as Red Bull Racing in 2005. The rest is history.
For 2023, the top Formula 1 betting sites have predictably made Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a 4/5 favorite to land his third World Drivers’ Championship title. Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton follows on 3/1. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc can be backed at 7/1.
If you cannot wait to get involved in Formula 1 action – the 24-race 2023 season starts in Bahrain on March 5th – the best Playtech online casinos do feature a Formula 1-themed slot called Wheels ‘N Reels. It has some neat features, but it does not travel at 350 kilometers per hour!
