Jody Scheckter is a South African former racing driver and businessman who competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980. He won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1979 driving for Ferrari, and remains the only African driver ever to win a Formula One Grand Prix or the World Drivers' Championship, taking 10 Grand Prix victories across nine seasons. He is also the only driver to win a Grand Prix in a six-wheeled car, at the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix.
Facts
Career HighlightWon the 1979 Formula One World Drivers' Championship with Ferrari 1 Classification
Competition Category FAQs
Why did Jody Scheckter switch to Ferrari?
He saw Ferrari as the way to a title after finishing second to Niki Lauda in 1977.
Formula 1 states that after he finished second overall to Ferrari driver Niki Lauda in 1977, driving for the new Wolf team, Scheckter decided the Italian cars were the way to go, and Enzo Ferrari happily hired him. That move led to his 1979 World Championship.
How did Jody Scheckter win the 1979 World Championship?
He used a conservative points-collecting strategy against teammate Gilles Villeneuve's speed.
Formula 1 says he and teammate Gilles Villeneuve became close friends and each won three races. Villeneuve was faster over a single lap, but Scheckter countered with a more conservative points-collecting strategy that paid off and made him the 1979 World Champion.
Connections
Competed In
Source Jody Scheckter (Wikipedia)
Plays
Source Jody Scheckter (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wikidata: Jody Scheckter
Sources
1. Jody Scheckter (Wikipedia)
Lead sentence, birth date
Jody David Scheckter (; born 29 January 1950) is a South African former racing driver and businessman who competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980.
Lead sentence, birth year
Jody David Scheckter (; born 29 January 1950) is a South African former racing driver and businessman who competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980.
Lead sentence, nationality
Jody David Scheckter (; born 29 January 1950) is a South African former racing driver and businessman who competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980.
Lead section, career highlight
Scheckter won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1979 with Ferrari, and remains the only African driver to have won a Formula One Grand Prix or the World Drivers' Championship; he won 10 Grands Prix across nine seasons.
Competed In: Formula One World Championship, Lead
who competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980
Plays: Motor Racing, lead paragraph, plays
Jody David Scheckter (; born 29 January 1950) is a South African former racing driver and businessman who competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980.
View the SourceWikidata: Jody Scheckter
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