On Sunday 24 May Andrew Marr interviewed Sir Jackie Stewart
Please note 'The Andrew Marr Show' must be credited if any part of this transcript is used.
Sir Jackie Stewart fears for the future of Formula One.
ANDREW MARR:
Sir Jackie Stewart
ANDREW MARR:
Now in a few hours time, the chequered flag's going to be waving in Monte Carlo to herald the start of the Monaco Grand Prix.
Sir Jackie Stewart's called it his favourite race of all. As one of the greatest racing drivers of his day, he was victorious there and relishes those triumphs still. Out of 99 races in his career, he won an amazing 27.
By the time he retired he was world champion three times. Since then, Sir Jackie's remained one of the leading figures in Formula One and foremost advocate of safety for racing drivers. And he's with me now. Welcome, Sir Jackie.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
Good morning.
ANDREW MARR:
Monaco - what's special about Monaco?
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
Kind of everything. I mean it's glamorous, it's colourful, it's exciting. It's the Riviera season opening up with the Cannes Film Festival. It's the beautiful people. And it's got a race track that's 66 years in use and one of the most demanding and one of the nicest ones to win.
ANDREW MARR:
Ah, yeah.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
So it's more or less got it all. The Mediterranean in front; the harbour and the Maritime Alps behind you - not bad!
ANDREW MARR:
So it's difficult and no doubt a bit dangerous, but nothing like as dangerous as it used to be in the old days. I was staggered when I read that when you were racing, if you lasted five years, if you were five years racing …
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
Yuh.
ANDREW MARR:
...your chances of being killed were two thirds.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
Yes, two out of three chances. In other words, one out of three you were going to die, which is ridiculous. But of course in those days nothing was being done. And I just happened to be in place at that time and you know they said, "Well you're getting paid too much money anyway".
And I said, "Well I thought I was being paid for my skills rather than avoiding death". So we changed it a lot. But what has happened now - I think it's the best risk management of any business or industry I know in the world - it's now been something ...Well since 1994, we haven't lost a driver in Formula One.
ANDREW MARR:
That's amazing - yeah, given what used to happen.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
Yuh.
ANDREW MARR:
But you talk about one of the greatest businesses in the world as well. In this country, we're in danger of losing the last Formula One circuit, yes?
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
Not impossible. Donnington has been elected to have the next British Grand Prix come 2010. This could be the last British Grand Prix at Silverstone, and we've hosted it since 1950 every year in Britain and occasionally at Brands Hatch but more likely at Silverstone.
It would be a great shame if, for example, we were to lose the Grand Prix completely because it's an enormous economy in the United Kingdom with close to 50,000 jobs.
ANDREW MARR:
50,000 jobs?
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
Motor sports industry, it's the Silicon Valley for motor sport ...The capital of the world is Britain for technology and motor sport. If we were to lose that, it would be very serious.
But it's also the place where we've bred - whether it's David Coulthard or, today, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton; whether it was the days of Stirling Moss and Jack Brabham, who was an Australian but part of us; whether it was Graham Hill or myself - we all saw Silverstone at the very beginning.
I was infected by seeing the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and so were all the designers.
ANDREW MARR:
(over) And it's not enough to go and see it on the television; you have to smell it?
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
No, you've got to touch it, smell it, hear it, and then you're bitten by a bug. And that's the shame. If were to lose that, we would not only lose our technicians and our engineering skills, but we would also lose our drivers in the future.
ANDREW MARR:
And there's the danger of losing yet more teams. I mean Ferrari are being talked about. That would be, presumably, pretty much a blow for the industry if they went.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
I mean I don't think anybody is irreplaceable, but it's much better to have a Ferrari with you because there's no following like they have in the world. The name is just instantly recognisable, they've been in the business for 60 years, and they're very upset by the present governance of the sport and that's why they're threatening to leave - because of new rule making that they don't agree with. I think it'll be sorted out. I don't think we'll lose Ferrari. I think motor sport is still going to be a giant in the world.
ANDREW MARR:
I mean do you think that the industry's well run at the moment because, for instance, all these big companies are being now told that there's a limit on how much they can spend?
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
Yes. I'm not against cost cutting - I mean I'm a good Scot when it comes to that - but I don't think we should ...I think we probably got overly extravagant.
ANDREW MARR:
Yeah.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
We've got to recognise that we should back off a little bit now. But I don't think that a cap that's being suggested just now - and it's mainly by Max Mosley, it's mainly one man on that side that's talking that way - I think they'll have to come to a compromise because we can't do without the Mercedes, the Hondas, the Renaults, the Ferraris, the big names - BMW. We need them because they make the engines.
ANDREW MARR:
Yes.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
So I think it'll ...a compromise will be reached and I think the sport will go on from strength to strength.
ANDREW MARR:
You mentioned Lewis Hamilton and Mr Button there, now of pole position of course.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
Terrific!
ANDREW MARR:
Lewis Hamilton's had a very tough few months.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
Not unusual for a reigning world champion to have trouble. I couldn't win the world championship every year. I won it every second year. You know I was sick and I won it, I was behind, then I was winning it; then I was sick and so forth.
ANDREW MARR:
Yes.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
It takes the edge off the team because you're lauded all over the world, you're presented with all the nice things and everything and you're living a gangster's life while you're world champion (Marr laughs), and then you've got to face - my gosh, there's another race to do, and suddenly you're not as sharp as you were.
ANDREW MARR:
Yeah.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
I think Lewis is just going to climb back and McLaren are going to climb back. But at the moment Jenson Button is driving superbly. And Ross Brawn, one of those people infected.
ANDREW MARR:
And visibly enjoying it as well when you see him talking.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
And maturely handling it.
ANDREW MARR:
Yeah. Now the other thing I must ask you about is you're the kind of international face of RBS these days, which is not necessarily the easiest …
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
(over) One of them.
ANDREW MARR:
"One of them", he said hurriedly. But you know they pay you a lot of money. Do you think ...Did you ever consider either paying that money back? Did you have second thoughts when this great Scottish institution collapsed so dramatically?
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
Well actually as you speak to me, I'm not earning any money.
ANDREW MARR:
Oh right.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
I'm running for one year without getting paid at all by RBS, and I thought that was my contribution to be able to help them in the year of most need - for me not to accept my salary and then I'll work for two more years. So instead of ...You know I'm working three years for the price of two and I thought …
ANDREW MARR:
Yes.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
...that that was a gesture. So I think that's fairly strong.
ANDREW MARR:
You're also I think probably the only person I will ever have on the sofa who would admit to being a friend of Sir Fred Goodwin.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
Yes, he's been a friend of mine for a few years now. Not a very long time. But I've found him a very interesting man and …
ANDREW MARR:
A little too interesting these days perhaps?
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
Well at the moment he's being very quiet.
ANDREW MARR:
Indeed, he certainly is. For now, thank you very much Sir Jackie Stewart.
SIR JACKIE STEWART:
Thank you, Andrew.
INTERVIEW ENDS
Please note "The Andrew Marr Show" must be credited if any part of this transcript is used.
NB: This transcript was typed from a recording and not copied from an original script.
Because of the possibility of mis-hearing and the difficulty, in some cases, of identifying individual speakers, the BBC cannot vouch for its accuracy
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