Jody Scheckter

South African driver who won the 1979 World Drivers' Championship for Ferrari alongside Gilles Villeneuve.

Jody Scheckter, born on 29 January 1950 in East London, South Africa, is a former racing driver and businessman who raced in Formula One from 1972 to 1980. He won the 1979 World Drivers' Championship driving for Ferrari, becoming the first world champion from Africa. He is still the only African driver to have won either a Grand Prix or the drivers' title, and he took 10 Grand Prix wins over nine seasons.

Last updated 2026-10-11 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Nationality: South African
Races: 113 (112 starts)
Wins: 10
Podiums: 33
Poles: 3
Fastest laps: 5
Last win: 1979 Italian Grand Prix

Facts from the source article.

Lore & Background

After a winless 1978 with Wolf, Scheckter joined Ferrari as Gilles Villeneuve's teammate for 1979. Once Ferrari brought in the 312T4 in South Africa, the pair finished first and second there and again at Long Beach, with Villeneuve ahead both times. Scheckter then won at Zolder after starting seventh, and at Monaco from pole, holding off Clay Regazzoni. His victory at Monza, Ferrari's home race, sealed the championship with two rounds still to run.

Reader's Guide

The 1980 title defence went badly: Ferrari struggled with the 312T5, Scheckter scored only two points and even failed to qualify for the Canadian Grand Prix. He announced his retirement at the end of that season, explaining that one or two drivers were dying every year, he had won the championship and the magic had gone. No other driver won the Drivers' Championship for Ferrari until Michael Schumacher, twenty-one years later.

Did You Know?

Scheckter's McLaren carried the number zero at the 1973 Canadian and American Grands Prix; only Damon Hill has also raced in Formula One under that number.
Scheckter called the six-wheeled Tyrrell P34 a piece of junk, even though he scored points in ten of the twelve races he started in it.
In 1981 Scheckter won the World Superstars competition, held in Key Biscayne, Florida.

Before Ferrari

Scheckter moved to Britain in 1971 and made his Formula One debut with McLaren at the 1972 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Tyrrell gave him his first full-time drive in 1974, and he took his first win at that year's Swedish Grand Prix. Driving Tyrrell's six-wheeled P34, he won the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix, and he remains the only driver to win a Grand Prix on six wheels. With the new Wolf team in 1977 he won three races and finished second in the championship to Niki Lauda.

After racing

Scheckter worked as a pit reporter for CBS and ABC and as a guest commentator for ITV. In 1984 he founded Firearms Training Systems, a weapons simulation business whose revenue passed 100 million pounds by the early 1990s. He later turned to organic farming at Laverstoke Park Farm in England, and his sons Toby and Tomas are both racing drivers.