Three-time Formula 1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart has told the incredible story of when Graham Hill and Bob Bondurant saved his life after a crash at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit during the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix.
The crash caused him to miss the following race, the French Grand Prix at Reims, and also led to Stewart fighting for improved safety measures in the championship through the work he did with the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.
“But I think a sport managed by old people. Before the war, old people. Motor racing was dangerous,” Stewart explained during an F1 champions round table shared on the Formula 1 YouTube channel.
“I tell everybody. Because at that time there were not enough marshals. I had an accident at Spa-Francorchamps. There were no officials at all, and I was trapped in the car, and that was a big shunt, the only accident I had in my whole life.
“But the fact that Graham Hill went off on the same road of water, so did Bob Bondurant. And that’s the only reason that I’m here today, because they got me out of what would have been death. And I was trapped in the car and I was in bad shape.
“The good news was that they found three nuns standing at the door, and they ran away. Graham and Bob Bondurant ran away to try and get help. The nurses came in, and Graham had taken all my clothes off because I had been burned with all the fuel. And of course, the nurses came in and put my clothes back on, soaking wet.”
Sir Jackie Stewart
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
When asked to clarify by fellow F1 champion Mario Andretti if his clothes were put back on because of the nuns, Stewart added: “Because of the nuns. No, I think it… It was at that time that I woke up to try and do something with the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, which I did for a good many years.
“But now, we have a cockpit of a car that’s a survival cell. We’ve never been better prepared. Ever, than we are today.”
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