1971. The Principality of Monaco. Formula 1. Team Tyrrell. Cosworth DFV. Jackie Stewart.
The above is quite a heady mix! The ingredients of excitement, tension, talent and not least a Champion.
In 1971, film producer Roman Polanski spent an extended weekend with his close friend Jackie Stewart during the Monaco Grand Prix. The resulting fabulous 35mm Technicolor chronicles Jackie Stewart’s most intense, but also most successful, weekend in Monaco as he took the Cosworth DFV engined Tyrrell 003 to a spectacular victory. The in-car footage is naturally a pure adrenalin rush, but there’s so much more to it than that. We also get a glimpse into Jackie Stewart’s life at the very height of his racing career. It’s a thoughtful, honest, warm, emotional, joking and vulnerable Jackie who opens up to his friend Roman as they chat during the weekend. There’s a real heart-warming depth to it. Add to that a few guest appearances from F1 greats such as Graham Hill, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jo Siffert, my Scandinavian hero Ronnie Peterson and several others. This is Formula 1 at its very best!
But it was more than forty years before the film was finally released. Not that this makes the footage any less enticing. At some point during this weekend, allow yourself 90 minutes for yourself, sat in your favourite chair with your favourite drink, and travel back in time with a Weekend of a Champion…