Jackie's dream dinner party
Who are your greatest heroes and closest friends, both past and present, and who would you bring together around a table, letting the conversation – and stories – flow ? We asked Jackie Stewart to come up with his ultimate dinner party guest list
He was my hero. I saw him racing, and then I got to know him even though we never spoke the same language. Fangio carried the sport of motor racing well beyond his driving skills, with a dignity and style like no other.
His funeral was colossal, in a little town in the Pampas. The whole country was in mourning. I know that happened for Senna, but not in the manner it was for Fangio, so many years after his career — I mean, he didn’t die as a racing driver like Senna. He was 84…
I’ve always said one of the most important things I’ve ever done is carry Fangio to his last resting place. When we carried the coffin into the town square from the museum, where he was lying in state, the whole place was packed. And when we came out there was absolute silence. Then someone started to clap, and everybody in the place suddenly applauded. It was an amazing experience. Everybody was affected by it because it was so spontaneous. There was no choreography involved.