F1 champion loses his driving licence

Ferrari 312 T4, Scheckter, Ferrari, 1979, generic — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Legends

F1 champion loses his driving licence

Jody Scheckter won the 1979 world championship

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 4 June 2025 22:58 Updated: 19:52

Formula 1's only African world champion has lost his drivers' licence due to a rule in the current country that he is living in, and has admitted that there's no way he will be able to pass the test again.

South African Jody Scheckter won the 1979 world championship with Ferrari, beating team-mate Gilles Villeneuve, whose son would go on to claim championship success in 1997.

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Scheckter is now 75 years of age, and finished his racing career entirely back in 1980, instead becoming a very successful businessman.

However, the South African has decided to set up his life in northern Italy having lived in England for several years, and he has explained that his English driving licence has now expired, leaving him without the opportunity to drive around Italy.

"The problem is that I speak Italian very badly, I can't possibly pass the test," the South African-born driver told Corriere della Sera. "I was able to drive with my licence for a year, but now it's expired.

"I chose Italy as my country; this is where I want to live," Scheckter continued, opting to be close to the headquarters of the team with whom he won his one and only F1 world championship.

Who is 1979 world champion Jody Scheckter?

Scheckter was born in the Cape Province of the Union of South Africa in 1950, at a very tumultuous time in the country's history.

Having competed in British Formula 2 for the 1972 season, Scheckter was promoted into F1 later that year for one race with the McLaren team.

He then continued with the Woking-based outfit in 1973, taking part in five grands prix. However, his big break came in 1974, when he was offered a full-time seat on the grid with the Tyrrell Racing team.

Scheckter went on to claim 10 race victories and 33 podiums across his relatively short F1 career, before going into business and farming and, later, setting up a life for himself in the UK.

Scheckter explained in his recent interview that he has employed the services of a lawyer to see if there is a way round his current inability to drive in Italy.

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Rachel Brookes Italy Gilles Villeneuve Jody Scheckter