{"id":201135,"date":"2025-10-15T05:55:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T05:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/201135\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T05:55:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T05:55:09","slug":"formula-one-legend-jackie-stewart-taped-a-wrench-to-a-steering-wheel-and-changed-the-sport-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/201135\/","title":{"rendered":"Formula One legend Jackie Stewart taped a wrench to a steering wheel and changed the sport forever"},"content":{"rendered":"

Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart once changed the sport forever.<\/p>\n

And he did it when he taped a wrench to a steering wheel.<\/p>\n

Stewart, lovingly known as \u2018The Flying Scot,\u2019 was involved in an almost-fatal crash back in 1966.<\/p>\n

And it was his response that changed the world of Formula One forever.<\/p>\n

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Jackie Stewart nearly loses life in 1966<\/p>\n

Sir Jackie Stewart<\/a> is one of the most impactful and important figures in the history of Formula One.<\/p>\n

Given the nickname \u2018The Flying Scot\u2019, Stewart was an incredible driver, winning three Drivers\u2019 Championships<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But his legacy is equally as impactful off the track as on it.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s because the Scotsman was one of the first drivers to seriously push to make Formula One safer.<\/p>\n

Most Formula One fans are far too young to remember just how dangerous the motorsport was.<\/p>\n

But there was a time when getting in a Formula One car<\/a> was to gamble with your life.<\/p>\n

During the 1960s, 29 drivers lost their lives competing at the pinnacle of four-wheeled motorsport.<\/p>\n

Eighteen more would follow in the next decade, the 1970s.<\/p>\n

\"Sir<\/a>Formula 1<\/p>\n

The 1996 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps was the watershed moment for Stewart.<\/p>\n

During the race, his BRM car careened off the track during a vicious rainstorm.<\/p>\n

But the trouble was only just beginning for \u2018The Flying Scot.\u2019<\/p>\n

Stewart found himself trapped in a cockpit that was quickly filling up with fuel.<\/p>\n

Lodged against his steering wheel, teammate Graham Hill and fellow driver Bob Bondurant rushed over.<\/p>\n

They tried everything to free Stewart, but it was useless.<\/p>\n

The group finally found a wrench from a fan, and managed to take off the steering wheel.<\/p>\n

From that day onwards, Stewart always taped a wrench to his steering wheel when he raced.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Flying Scot\u2019 makes Formula One safer<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Sir Jackie made it out alive \u2013 but the incident changed him forever.<\/p>\n

The crash had left him with a broken collarbone, but something else had also happened.<\/p>\n

It was the final straw for Stewart, who had had enough of the dangers of competing in Formula One.<\/p>\n

Following his return to the grid, he ensured that an ambulance was present at every single track.<\/p>\n

His BRM team owner, Louis Stanley, helped him in his safety crusade.<\/p>\n

Stanley introduced a state-of-the-art medical truck called the Grand Prix Medical Service (GPMS).<\/p>\n

The GPMS faced stiff opposition from the organizers and circuit promoters, who somehow felt that the extra safety was unnecessary.<\/p>\n

Over the remaining years of Stewarts career, he would advocate for further safety.<\/p>\n

\"Jackie<\/a>Race Against Dementia <\/p>\n

Regular clashes with the championship organizers would follow, but the sport was made safer.<\/p>\n

Seatbelts, for example, only became mandatory in 1972 because of Stewart.<\/p>\n

Following his retirement in 1973, Stewart\u2019s advocacy for the drivers continued.<\/p>\n

He continued to serve as the head of the Grand Prix Drivers\u2019 Association.<\/p>\n

It is largely thanks to Sir Jackie Stewart that Formula One is as relatively safe as it is now.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s a legacy to be proud of.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart once changed the sport forever. And he did it when he taped…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[1687,372,6537,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-201135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-f1","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}