“Monte Carlo should be driven smoothly and quietly …
You’re doing it with gentleness, you’re being kind to your motor car, it’s being kind to you. You’re great friends, you’re married, you’re having a fantastic affair, everything’s united, you’re not arguing with anyone, when you change gear there’s no rush to change gear.”
The 1972 documentary by Roman Polanski about Formula One champion Sir Jackie Stewart Weekend of a Champion has been re-released after being hidden for 40 years. It’s on iTunes and Amazon pretty cheap. It offers an intimate snapshot of a very cool time in Grand Prix racing, and a close portrait of one of the best drivers in motor racing. He won 27 F1 races, and was world champion three times (in 1969, ’71 & ’73).
In one scene, Jackie, having breakfast in his underwear, explains how to take a corner in Monte Carlo. It becomes a master-class in how to take any corner, a whole philosophy of driving, by a world champion at the height of his power. F1 is a fast, loud, aggressive, dangerous, violent, high-energy, high-g thrill ride. But Jackie’s mindset is all smooth, gentle, clean. We might say he is ‘ahead of the car’. He sums it up this way:
“The smoothest and quietest way—the slowest way—around Monte Carlo is the fastest way.”
I really enjoyed the whole fly-on-the-wall movie. Cool driving, cool drivers. The racing looks violent, crazy. But in his mind, Jackie is thinking about caressing the corner, about clean lines, and about being slow.
He wins the race.
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