Jackie Stewart Quotes

• "From the five years, 1968-73, if you were an F1 driver at that time, there was a very likely chance that you would have died."
• "From today I am no longer a racing driver. I'm retired and I am very happy."
• "I think probably fire was the biggest concern, and there were a number of accidents involving fire, in particular those befalling Piers Courage, Jo Schlesser and Clay Regazzoni."
• "I would have been a much more popular Wolrd Champion if I had always said what people wanted to hear. I might have been dead, but definitely more popular."
• "I'm not going away. I'll still be very much involved in the team but not with the same number of hours. I need to move over and allow the people who are really doing the job the space to do so."
• "It takes leadership to improve safety. And I started off the movement in my time, but the person who has done more over the past 20 to 30 years and who has led it is Professor Sid Watkins."
• "Nobody wants a big accident. But I believe there is a degree of complacency because we haven't lost a driver in Formula 1 since that terrible weekend in Imola over 10 years now, and before that Elio de Angelis was killed in testing eight years before that."
• "The biggest issue for anyone who wants to do improvements is you need the money to afford them, and we are doing what we can to afford them."
• "The years I raced in were fantastic. There was so much change in the cars. We went from treaded tyres to no wings right through to slicks to enormous wings."
• "There has been a huge advance in technology, which has improved the safety of the cars incredibly, but there are still some heavy crash impacts and in certain circumstances there is still the chance of fire today."
• "There is no doubt that Formula 1 has the best risk management of any sport and any industry in the world."
• "There were a lot of conscientious drivers. In particular Jo Bonnier, Graham Hill, Jody Scheckter and Denny Hulme."
• "There were no medical facilities, but now today it is like an intensive care unit. Who would want to argue against that? People were dying regularly."
• "This is undoubtedly the most important moment in my racing career. I have won Grands Prix, I have won world championships, but to win as a Constructor is the highest emotion imaginable."
• "We have had more sales for this year's grand prix than any other, and we have been helped in that by the fact that Jenson had 10 podiums last season and looks like a winner. It is good for British motor racing if he is there and doing well."
• "We were racing at circuits where there were no crash barriers in front of the pits, and fuel was lying about in churns in the pit lane. A car could easily crash into the pits at any time. It was ridiculous."
• "We're relieved that we've been able to retain the British Grand Prix in this country, as I'm sure Bernie is too."
• "When there is an accident involving fire, in most cases death is caused by the inhalation of the toxic smoke. What we need is air to go to a driver for 45 seconds. I'm surprised that this is not done, and I would make it compulsory."
• "You can never stop thinking about safety. There are always new improvements coming along. The people who work in the sport are creative and new ideas like deformable crash structures are fantastic."
• "You will always have the best drivers of each era, and they will always be the best of that time, and they are Jim Clark, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Juan Manuel Fangio, Ayrton Senna."
• "In one year I travelled 450,000 miles by air."
• "Cornering is like bringing a woman to climax."
• "Juan Fangio was the great man of racing, whilst Stirling Moss was the epitome of a racing driver."
• "There is generally only one genius at any one time and I think you're going to see Alonso taking on that mantle."
• "There was obviously excitement when Kimi Raikkonen came on the scene, but he hasn't been able to deliver the number of wins people expected him to have."