Stewart retires

After a professional international career of ten years, three times World Champion John Young Stewart announced his retirement from active racing at a recent Press conference in London.

He is leaving Formula 1 racing at the very pinnacle of his success, having won his third World Championship in 1973 as well as passing the late Jim Clark’s previous record for Grand Prix triumphs, his victory in this year’s German GP taking him to a total of 27.

Stewart’s distinguished career at the wheel of a Formula 1 car started in 1965 when he joined BRM as team mate to Graham Hill and he managed to take first place in the Italian Grand Prix during his first year in motor racing’s top league. He won at Monaco in 1966, but it wasn’t until 1968 that he really started to pile up the wins when he joined Ken Tyrrell to drive the Matra-Cosworth. He won his first World Championship in 1969 and his two subsequent titles in similarly powered cars constructed by Ken Tyrrell’s team.

At the age of 34, Stewart has made a difficult decision, a decision which has proved too difficult for or one or two of his rivals still racing. His ability al the wheel of a Grand Prix car set a standard for his rivals to aspire to and he was consistently the best of his era.