2001: Jackie Stewart Knighted

14 Jun 2012

On Saturday 16th June, 2001, Jackie Stewart was awarded a knighthood for his achievements in sport and his tireless work to improve safety standards in racing. During Stewart's F1 career, the chances of a driver who raced for five years being killed in a crash were two out of three. After witnessing the dangerous conditions first hand, Stewart decided to make a stand.

'I thought that was wrong so I went about trying to change it fairly vigorously. It was highly irregular for a driver to be speaking out about safety but in my opinion it's the biggest contribution I made to motor sport - much more so than winning three world championships.'- Jackie Stewart

Due to his hard work, despite opposition from the press, track owners, and fellow drivers, Stewart's requests were granted. There are now improved safety measures for drivers including mandatory seat belt use and full-face helmets. Emergency services are now present during races, and tracks have been modernized to include safety barriers and run off areas.

This picture is taken from Jackie Stewart's COLLAGE.