"We would drive through the flames" - Former F1 world champion Jackie Stewart talks about death and danger in the sport

Former F1 world champion Jackie Stewart talked about how drivers in his era would just drive through the fire because they didn't know any better. The three-time world champion was talking to PlanetF1 on the eve of his documentary "Stewart" being released. He spoke about how things were different in his era.

Stewart reminisced about how F1 drivers were almost immune to the prospect of heavy crashes and deaths during his time. He also talked about how drivers and absolute legends like Bruce McLaren, Jim Clark, and Graham Hill were all friends and used to spend a lot of time together. He said:

“You never thought about it. You were immune in some form. Whether it was Piers Courage or Jo Schlesser. We kept going, we would drive through the flames. Nobody stopped a race, you’re only told that at the end of the race that someone has died. With Piers, I knew because his helmet had come off. The whole thing was on fire but the helmet wasn’t."

He added:

“In those days, we never even stopped the race. We drove through the fire. Everybody was friends, that was the great thing in that day. We all went on holiday together. Jochen [Rindt] and Piers Courage, Jimmy Clark and Graham [Hill]. Then Bruce McLaren of course as well. We spent a lot of time together and really we had a great group of people and sadly of course so many died.”

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F1 fans were just as amorous as they are today: Jackie Stewart

Stewart revealed a funny incident from the 1969 F1 Italian GP in Monza when fans went over the barricade. They chased him and his future wife all over the paddock. He said:

“Spectators of course were just as amorous as they are today. More than that. There’s great shots in the film, of [wife] Helen and I being absolutely overtaken by a crowd. When I look at it today, I can’t believe that was allowed to happen! We were fighting to get back."

He added:

"We escaped into the office of the guy that looked after the track at Monza and they broke into his room. So we went into the loo to get away from them and they started to break down the loo! So we went through a window. They then got into a Tyrrell transporter, which they then pushed up and it fell onto a Dunlop trailer. It just doesn’t happen nowadays.”

Stewart was a three-time world champion and retired after winning his third title in 1973 with Tyrell.