F1 champ admits losing driving licence (probably for good)

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F1 News & Gossip

F1 champ admits losing driving licence (probably for good)

Jody Scheckter won the 1979 world championship

By Sam Cook.

Wednesday 4 June 2025 17:00

The only African Formula 1 champion in the sport's 75-year history has admitted that he has lost his license.

South Africa's Jody Scheckter won the title in 1979 with Ferrari, part of the Italian manufacturer's golden era.

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

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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.

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.

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