I'm 77 years old. I was 27 and, unlike most Americans and even American motor racing fans, a follower and huge fan of Formula 1. I was absolutely crushed when Jim Clark was killed. But somehow I was even more crushed when Francois Cevert was killed. Maybe it was because of so much promise unfulfilled. Maybe it was Francois was who we all wanted to be. Ridiculously talented (I remembered the story of him playing Chopin on the piano in the lobby of a hotel where a lot of the drivers were staying), ridiculously good looking yet never generating resentments commonly displayed by others so jealous, and those eyes that you could not help but notice. 50 years later, watching this brief documentary, it still brought tears to my eyes.
For me it was the deaths of Clark and Bandini! In fact the similarities in how both Bandini and Cevert accidents happened is uncanny. Both misjudged and hit one side and bounced to the other resulting in fatal injuries.
Thank you Richard for this comment. I don't mean to misinterpret your comment, but yeah I know the 'isolation' of being an American fan of a sport... F1... that none of my friends knew about or wanted to even talk about. Add onto that the unusual factor of having your sporting heroes literally die in the sport you love... it's all a bit hard to explain. Even after Cevert, Americans were cursed with both Revson and Donohue passing and for a time I just gave up on it. But I do remember the Stewart retirement being one of the worst kept secrets at the time. Motoring journals were openly discussing next year's Tyrrell lineup. The coming Cevert vs. Fittipaldi duel would have been quite the season. Your comments on Cevert are spot on... I remember photographs of him, especially head on straight into the camera, and thinking there was nobody in Hollywood that handsome. Lastly, a thought for Stewart. I never heard that story before, of him climbing back into his race car and doing some laps to show the mechanics that there was no fault of the preparation of the cars. I can't imagine.
Cevert was going to be the lead driver for Tyrrell after Stewart retired and potential championship but it will never be. The what ifs. I also thought was Jules Bianchi years back when he was going to be the next Ferrari F1 driver and that devastating accident at Suzuka that he succumbed the next year. The what ifs.
@@milkdud0 Coverage? Well there was no TV coverage. One a year, ABC would put on Monaco on their "Wild World of Sports" show. Which meant abysmal commentating with literally nobody knowing what they were talking about. The coverage was in print. My Dad got the NYT daily, so I'd scour that after each race. Often there was zero write up and only a table of results. The best source was Autoweek and Competition Press. A weekly newspaper. I have to admit they had a quick turnaround and full race reports with photos and multiple pages of coverage delivered by Wednesday or Thursday. It likely sounds horrible, but a good writer could spin a story as he was laying out the events of the race. Unlike simply watching it on TV, you were reading that Amon was leading, but with a high rev misfire that was killing his top end, or Hunt was in a solid second place but was battling a serious out of balance right front wheel. Cars were SO much less reliable then. But, the best 'inside' story was by Rob Walker, the Scotch whisky heir who ran his own teams. He would write monthly for Road and Track magazine. LOTS of inside information because he was well liked and everybody told him things. Quite a nice down to earth guy actually. So, you developed an appreciation for good sports writing. A bit of a lost art now.
He was a fundamental influence on my life.....met him as an 11 year old at Mosport....my father had a pit pass and I spent a couple of hours watching him and the Tyrrell mechanics sorting gearbox issues on his and Stewart's cars....he was generous with his time for a young boy and on race day, winked at me from the cockpit.....I was then a committed Cevert fan and begged my father to take me to Watkins Glen two weeks later....I remember the open tears amongst fans and my feelings of shock that he was gone...and the long, silent ride home to Toronto in the car, watching the scenery pass....and thinking that death was real, not something on TV. A turning point. Didn't follow F1 in 1974, but came back in 1975.....but the loss of my hero was something important. Can't believe it's been 50 years
@@GamingSinceThe70s-pq9st his eyes were very bright blue.,,in the pits, he noticed that I was watching him climb in and out of the cars as the mechanics adjusted the shift linkage. The wall separating me from the cars was about 2 feet high and he walked over and looked down at me and said, " what do you think? Is it good?" I was too awed to speak and he laughed and tousled my hair. The fact that he remembered me on race day by winking from the cockpit sealed the deal. He was also followed by a gaggle of young women, something I noted to my father...." I didn't know that so many girls like racing!" Dad smiled at me and said, " remarkable, isn't it?"
A tragedy how Cevert died but the work which Stewart did to improve the safety in motorsport was such a tribute. The 1970 March Tyrrell is at the British motor museum where I work and I often talk to visitors about these two.
Francois Cevert: truly a man’s man. He had the look, the eyes, the voice, the talent, he had it all; I think that legendary 1976 F1 season would’ve been MUCH different had he survived; RIP Francois.
I remember his crash to this day. Over more than 28 years of involvement in motorsports, there are only three other on track deaths that have touched me as deeply. He was a driver on the cusp of greatness, but motor racing has always been a fickle mistress. Missed, but never forgotten!
9:14 - "I could miss gears as well, I didn't want to pass you because you missed a gear or because you made a mistake. I want to pass you when I'm better than you." - Francois Cevert They don't make them like this anymore, now-a-days your teammate (metaphorically) will kill you in your sleep if it means that they can place better than you.
Maintaining good gear changes is part of coping under pressure. As such, it was a 'missed' opportunity and Francois should have capitalised as I'm certain Jackie would have done, given that situation. Hence why Jackie was upset with him.
François will always bring attention, he's magnetic. Sir Jackie is a fantastic living legacy. He has lived through so much on and off the track, with friends and family. He deserves to enjoy his retirement.
A horrendous death which I won't elaborate on but I loved how the cars handled in the 70s (pre 78 obviously). Even smoothies like Jackie were sliding through most corners and Ronnie was something else. If they could combine that with today's safety it would be great.
I don’t give a hoot about current F1 but only need to look at the proportions and wheelbase of the cars to know they’ll never do a proper slide worth watching… tractor-trailer like.
Fantastic film. Always been fascinated by Francois and sad how quickly it ended for him with such a terrible accident. Thanks to @skysportsF1 for keeping his memory alive with films like this.
I only learnt about him recently. What a beautiful looking man. Having read some comments from people who were there his death was horrific. Poor Jackie having to see his remains must have been sickening.
4:04 - I wonder if Jo Ramirez ever had a talk with Senna after his infamous interview with Sir Jackie in Adelaide after the race in Suzuka 1990, to explain to him firsthand why Jackie felt the way he did about safety and what he had personally witnessed over the course of his professional career, to maybe offer Senna a unique perspective a few years earlier.
Perhaps then drivers were more keen to teaching young teammates as much as possible to keep them alive as much as team success. Today's drivers probably feel impervious to death
More ego nowadays. Sir Jackie Stewart learned from perhaps the best F1 driver, Jim Clark. He was into giving and sharing. Not today. It's Me-Me times now.
My dad was there that day. He used to work for the press director at Watkins Glen and had got to know Francois enough to say hi every year when they'd come. He said he was walking through the pit lane with a young lady right before Cevert was to go out on track. Gave my dad a little thumbs up, and lost his life ten minutes later. Wish my dad was still here to tell this himself.
Francois Cevert would have been France's first World Champion, what a loss. His fatal accident was one of the most horrific in Formula One. Unbelieveable that a year later those same Armco barriers were still on the track of Watkins Glen...as if the lives of those F1 drivers were worth nothing. The barriers at Watkins Glen killed Helmuth Koinigg in 1974, in a similarly horrible way as Cevert's death. May they rest in peace. And big respect to Jackie Stewart who helped tremendously to make this sport safer. He is a hero.
His younger brother first heard of his death from television. He went to tell the family in the other room "Francois died". He did some racing also but not on the same level.
I WAS THERE THAT DAY AT WATKINS GLEN, AND OF COURSE WILL NEVER FORGET THE SHOCK AROUND THAT RACE TRACK. HE WAS SO DYNAMIC, SO FULL OF LIFE AND ONE HECK OF A DRIVER. I RECALL THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF STEWART DROPPING OUT OF THE UPCOMING RACE, BUT OF COURSE IT WAS VERY UNDERSTANDABLE. HE DID THE RIGHT THING. RIP MR. CEVERT. SURELY THEY HAVE GOLDEN PAVED FORMULA 1 TRACKS IN HEAVEN.
I remember that dark day well. I was walking around the track taking pictures of the cars going around, when suddenly it all stopped and became very quiet, then I found out the reason…
People compare drivers of different eras in some hope of justifying to themselves who they think is the best. This era of F1 was so much about 'one mistake and you are dead' that to be champion three times back then was such an achievement that we cannot really quantify it. Stewart was not only one of the greats, he won in a dangerous era, made few mistakes, and worked tirelessly to make the sport safer for everyone. Cevert never got the chance to prove himself, a tragedy in itself, but he will always be remembered and celebrated for the person he was, and he certainly lit up the circus of F1 back then. RIP Francois.
@@richardmccaughey5928On the photographs, you see the back of the car above the safety rail not below. I think he died cut off by the sheet métal of his car not because of safety rail. Tragic ending.
"Uno debe elegir: Dirigir tu vida, disfrutando y haciendo algo que puede llegar a matarte, o hacer otra cosa que te aburra. Yo no estoy dispuesto a aburrirme" "Me tomaría más valor dejar de correr que el que me toma seguir haciéndolo" "Disfruto con todos los momentos de mi vida, es casi increíble. Hay muy pocas cosas de las que debo hacer que no me gusten. De momento, soy el hombre más feliz del mundo” "Conducía como si estuviese en el infierno y no pensaba lo suficiente. Jackie me enseñó cómo se debe analizar un auto, cómo se debe pensar cuando se maneja, la visión que se debe tener. Él hizo toda mi educación" "En las carreras no hay lugar para las lágrimas. Siguen a pesar de las tragedias" François Cevert "Llegué y me quedé paralizado por el horror, había humo y vapor por todas partes… y allí, todavía atrapado por el cinturón de seguridad, estaba mi compañero de equipo, mi protegido, mi amigo, mi hermano pequeño... Estaba muerto" "Poco a poco, François se estaba volviendo más y más fuerte en carrera. Era obvio que hubiese acabado siendo campeón del mundo. Era suficientemente bueno como para ganarme, tenía ambición, y habría acabado siendo el número 1 del equipo" "Algunas personas lo consideraban un playboy. Le gustaba vestir con estilo, y una vez llegó a mostrar una presencia espectacular cuando se presentó con un abrigo de piel hasta las rodillas y un collar de peces. Le expliqué todo lo que sabía. La relación funcionó porque él tenía poca experiencia y muchas ganas. Muchos pilotos se contentan con servirse del talento natural que Dios les dio; pocas veces tienen que esforzarse más allá de lo que les han dado. Pero, para los realmente buenos, eso es solo una base" Jackie Stewart "En un GP de Holanda, Stewart lideraba, con Cevert detrás y Jackie perdió una marcha. François no quiso adelantarle, porque quería ganar por habilidad, no porque tuviese un problema" "François era un hombre del que era difícil no sentirse cerca. Estaba lleno de vida, amado por las mujeres. Parecía más una estrella de cine o un rico playboy que un piloto, pero era realmente un piloto muy bueno. Un hombre de muchos talentos" "Había un camión que iba a salir hacia la zona del accidente. Iba a subirme, pero Jody Scheckter, que acababa de volver al pit lane, me gritó: ‘¡No vayas! ¡Ni se te ocurra!’ Entonces, el corazón se hundió en mi pecho" "El accidente ocurrió el sábado 6, el número del auto era el 6, el chasis era el 006 y el motor era el 066. No soy supersticioso. Sin embargo cuando volvimos a Inglaterra y se mandó el motor a Cosworth para revisarlo. Los mecánicos lo desarmaron y pusieron el block sobre un banco de trabajo. Sorpresivamente, ellos vieron esta enorme y pesada masa de aluminio moverse del banco y golpear contra el piso (...) Por las caras de los dos mecánicos, había que creer que algo había pasado, casi como si François estuviera tratando de decir algo" Jo Ramírez "Cuando salió a pista por última vez, me dijo ‘Pondré el auto en la pole’. Era así de decidido. Los momentos posteriores a su accidente fuero durísimos. Estuve a punto de dejar la competición" Ken Tyrrell "El día que murió Cevert fue uno de los más tristes de mi carrera" Emerson Fittipaldi "Cuando fui a poner flores en la pista de Watkins Glen en el 40° aniversario de la muerte de Cevert se estaba disputando una carrera amateur. En el momento en que yo estaba investigando en qué lugar se había despistado, una rueda se salió de un auto y fue a pegar contra la malla de protección exactamente en ese lugar. Jackie Stewart ha dicho que, para aquellos que creen, el espíritu de Cevert estaba rondando y haciéndose notar" Connie Ann Kirk "François, hijo de un joyero tenía la pureza de un diamante. Si su trayectoria no se hubiera quebrado contra una barrera, en 1974 hubiese sido el primer francés campeón del mundo en la historia de la Fórmula 1" Xavier Chimits "Pilotos legendarios de la Fórmula 1" página 144. Edimat Libros, 2007. "Jackie, Ferrari me hizo una oferta. Algún día tengo que seguir mi camino, y tu relación con Ken es tan buena que quizás nunca pueda ganarte. Tengo que buscar otro equipo" François Cevert a Jackie Stewart días antes del Gran Premio de Canadá 1973 Saludos desde Venezuela
In one sense a tragic waste of a talented racing driver,and a well rounded human being.But no one knows the danger more than the driver this is what he wanted to do with his life RIP
I had just started racing single craters that year. Was at the Glen and waiting to go thru the Tunnel to the infield when Francois crashed . Saw the car come over the barrier. Such a sad day. I think he would have been the First French World Champion the following year.
50 years today. As the song goes -'Who knows where the time goes?''. Sadly, it was all so avoidable - he was pushing far too hard for pole, very possibly because he feared being replaced at Tyrrell for 1974, and shouldn't even have raced that weekend because of the bad injuries to his ankles in a big shunt in Canada in the previous GP.
That is often an overlooked point. Francois didn't know JYS was retiring and there were rumours abound about Jody being signed for '74. Cevert was a man under pressure when there wasn't any pressure at all...
@@djh29971 Hi. yes indeed. To my knowledge nobody's ever asked Jackie (I'm not saying anyone should, to this day he's still so upset about Cevert's death) whether he feels guilty about keeping Cevert in the dark like that, especially since Francois knew about Scheckter's potential arrival. I understand Jackie not telling Helen (assuming it's true, though why would he lie?), but can't see the reasoning with Francois. Having said that, maybe it was just that Jackie and Ken planned a big surprise for Cevert at the end of the race (Ken had asked Jackie to let Francois through to win and Jackie says he was thinking about it). Look how great it would have been - Tyrrell being Constructors' Champions and the No 1 place being handed over to Cevert during the celebrations. They were very keen to win the Constructors - Ken brought the weirdly neglected Chris Amon in as a third driver in both Canada and the Glen - allowed in those days! And then of course the team withdrew from the race and Lotus nipped in and won the Constructors' Championship.
@@GamingSinceThe70s-pq9st Indeed - it was like a still badly injured Graham Hill driving in the 1970 South African GP despite having to be lifted into and out of his car! Unbelievable.
The circumstances of Cevert’s death due to the car penetrating the Armco barriers are bad enough but it is nothing short of scandalous that Helmuth Koinigg died in just the same way at the same circuit the following year.
13:54 Because of that shorter wheelbase the car was more sensitive to a higher revving engine. Taking the Esses a gear higher with a lower revving engine (so around the same speed but with less RPM) would make the car more stable.
i belive that another french driver few years before he would have the same almost accindent and the same result.but he was lucky becouse HALLO save his life at bahrain.grozian his name.
Good driver, though had he lived, in my opinion I think he would have struggled to become a world champion, he had great driving ability but really benefited from Stewart's presence in setting up the car. The fighting racer instinct in him also didnt seem to be consistent or as strong compared with other racers at that time and from 74 and onwards the likes of Fittipaldi, Scheckter Andretti, Peterson, Hunt, Lauda were either on the scene or coming onto the scene. Personally I dont think his ability would have got the better over those racers for a championship.
Agreed. I never saw him as a lost world champion. Tyrrell began a steep decline after Stewart's retirement. I suspect Cevert, had he lived, would stayed with Tyrrell for a few more years before probably heading up the Renault factory effort for a few more years. He would have won 4-6 races, in my opinion had he raced until the late 70s-early 80s.
I also agree. The great ones , the future champions do not wait. They try to immediately be faster than the teammate star. No matter who. In 1979 Piquet immediately was as fast as Lauda , trying to beat him from the go. Villeneuve immediately was fighting Hill in 1996. Hamilton was also beating Alonso in 2007. The great ones do not wait . Personally , I think Scheckter would beat Cevert in 1974 .
Reminder to all of us to be right with God at all times because you never know when it's your time to go... and you're not guaranteed to be given a chance for final repentance.
Alguns pontos que gostaria de contribuir, onde vou escrever bem pouco no que diz no campo espiritual, que foi onde em um grupo espírita francês foi citado sobre ele e sua missão, mas principalmente no campo esportivo que é pertinente ao canal. Sou de 1980, mas no programa GRANDES MOMENTOS DO ESPORTE foi onde vi ele pela primeira vez, 1º em um documentário falando sobre acidentes na F1 no início dos anos 90, onde falo que a TV em preto-e-branco aparecendo sua imagem com aqueles olhos azuis me assustaram e impactaram, mas em 1993 nos 20 anos de sua partida no mesmo programa e com narração do Celso Miranda, ali quis saber mais sobre ele mesmo sem a internet o que foi difícil mas consegui como disse com o tempo e por ligações espirituais. Só nessa parte, quero falar que o grande amor da sua vida se chamava “Ninou”, e por meio de uma cartomante ela soube que o grande amor de sua vida não chegaria aos 30 anos, e que ele também já tinha uma noção disso quase que como um Jimi Hendrix ou Jim Morrison das pistas, hoje Ninou tem em seu acervo e tenho em jpeg´s. Imagens de seu cartão de crédito, passaporte e agenda pessoal planejando o que fazer após WG e a chave de seu último dormitório. Sua casa também pelo google maps é possível ver, hoje é uma rua comercial. Voltando ao âmbito esportivo gostaira de confirmar com informações que teria que vasculhar meus arquivos mas creio que se encontra na internet mas que fiquem a vontade em corrigir de forma respeitosa. - A globo não levou equipe para a corrida pois como estava definida o campeonato era necessário pensar no orçamento, além do “Galvão Bueno” da época morrer em um desastre aéreo. Júlio Delamare. - Se cogitou que ele também poderia estar de ressaca no dia, na noite anterior ele ficou até tarde com Jackie, Helen e seu cunhado falando desde Muhammad Ali, férias e sobre a “passagem do cetro”. O casal saiu antes e Cevert ficou com JP Beltoise mais um pouco no hall. -Em 1974 estava sendo desenhado um 3º piloto mas que saindo Jackie se tornaria o “pupilo” de Cevert, juro não lembrar o nome e a categoria creio que alguma fórmula inglesa, mas ele também morreu degolado em uma corrida, no caso foi em árvores. - Tenho em VHS, reportagens de Emerson Fittipaldi isso em 2008,9 por aí ele falando do Cevert no Amauri Jr e mesmo assim ainda arrancou lágrimas tamanho o carinho, a F1 a morte era uma companheira, mas Cevert foi o 1º que todo o circo sentiu, tem um relato do JP Beltoise falando sobre como foi recolher os pertences dele, como disse, hoje parte no acervo de Ninou. -Outra Citação que vi e tem no youtube foi do “pofexô” Vanderlei Luxemburgo em 1997 citando ele como motivo para assistir as corridas e do Gil Brother “away” onde em um podcast falou de grandes pilotos e falou de nomes como: Reggazoni, Peterson, Giovanni Salvatti e François Cevert. É isso, não sou de fazer textão, mas não posso deixar de contribuir e falar de alguém que como disse, não se trata de falar apenas de um piloto, em outros fóruns falo do homem, do ser de Luz e de sua missão em outros planos. Mas aqui é o grande François Cevert, que em um ano muito cabuloso levou gênios como Jarno Saarinen e Bruce Lee. Abs. a todos.
It was Helmuth Koinigg who was decapitated a year after Cevert's death, on the same track in Watkins Glen, in 1974. Cevert's body was torn apart into two pieces.
François Cevert was a French citizen of Jewish ancestry during NSDAP occupation of France. His birth name was Albert Goldenberg. Had this name change not happened, he likely would have ended up in a concentration camp. How F1 history would differ without this young talented driver?? Did you know this?
@@richardmccaughey5928something that’s the norm isn’t an accident, it’s simply something that’s more likely to happen than anything else. If anything can be called an accident, it’s the thing that happens a lot less frequently. Although I don’t see why the word would be used at all in this situation.
Francois was playing around with evil...He saw a Medium, he was living in sin (girlfriends galore), he thought that 666 was a good thing 😢. He was doomed. I really liked him, he had potential, but he was messing around with evil... The wages of sin is death.
That's not a nice thing to say would you like it if someone said that about you it was not as safe as it is today look at the drivers today they break up with there girlfriends and a few weeks later they have a new one even today they put there lives on the line
I'm 77 years old. I was 27 and, unlike most Americans and even American motor racing fans, a follower and huge fan of Formula 1. I was absolutely crushed when Jim Clark was killed. But somehow I was even more crushed when Francois Cevert was killed. Maybe it was because of so much promise unfulfilled. Maybe it was Francois was who we all wanted to be. Ridiculously talented (I remembered the story of him playing Chopin on the piano in the lobby of a hotel where a lot of the drivers were staying), ridiculously good looking yet never generating resentments commonly displayed by others so jealous, and those eyes that you could not help but notice. 50 years later, watching this brief documentary, it still brought tears to my eyes.
For me it was the deaths of Clark and Bandini! In fact the similarities in how both Bandini and Cevert accidents happened is uncanny. Both misjudged and hit one side and bounced to the other resulting in fatal injuries.
Thank you Richard for this comment. I don't mean to misinterpret your comment, but yeah I know the 'isolation' of being an American fan of a sport... F1... that none of my friends knew about or wanted to even talk about. Add onto that the unusual factor of having your sporting heroes literally die in the sport you love... it's all a bit hard to explain. Even after Cevert, Americans were cursed with both Revson and Donohue passing and for a time I just gave up on it. But I do remember the Stewart retirement being one of the worst kept secrets at the time. Motoring journals were openly discussing next year's Tyrrell lineup. The coming Cevert vs. Fittipaldi duel would have been quite the season. Your comments on Cevert are spot on... I remember photographs of him, especially head on straight into the camera, and thinking there was nobody in Hollywood that handsome. Lastly, a thought for Stewart. I never heard that story before, of him climbing back into his race car and doing some laps to show the mechanics that there was no fault of the preparation of the cars. I can't imagine.
Cevert was going to be the lead driver for Tyrrell after Stewart retired and potential championship but it will never be. The what ifs. I also thought was Jules Bianchi years back when he was going to be the next Ferrari F1 driver and that devastating accident at Suzuka that he succumbed the next year. The what ifs.
Dang how was the coverage like back in those days?
@@milkdud0 Coverage? Well there was no TV coverage. One a year, ABC would put on Monaco on their "Wild World of Sports" show. Which meant abysmal commentating with literally nobody knowing what they were talking about. The coverage was in print. My Dad got the NYT daily, so I'd scour that after each race. Often there was zero write up and only a table of results. The best source was Autoweek and Competition Press. A weekly newspaper. I have to admit they had a quick turnaround and full race reports with photos and multiple pages of coverage delivered by Wednesday or Thursday. It likely sounds horrible, but a good writer could spin a story as he was laying out the events of the race. Unlike simply watching it on TV, you were reading that Amon was leading, but with a high rev misfire that was killing his top end, or Hunt was in a solid second place but was battling a serious out of balance right front wheel. Cars were SO much less reliable then. But, the best 'inside' story was by Rob Walker, the Scotch whisky heir who ran his own teams. He would write monthly for Road and Track magazine. LOTS of inside information because he was well liked and everybody told him things. Quite a nice down to earth guy actually. So, you developed an appreciation for good sports writing. A bit of a lost art now.
He was a fundamental influence on my life.....met him as an 11 year old at Mosport....my father had a pit pass and I spent a couple of hours watching him and the Tyrrell mechanics sorting gearbox issues on his and Stewart's cars....he was generous with his time for a young boy and on race day, winked at me from the cockpit.....I was then a committed Cevert fan and begged my father to take me to Watkins Glen two weeks later....I remember the open tears amongst fans and my feelings of shock that he was gone...and the long, silent ride home to Toronto in the car, watching the scenery pass....and thinking that death was real, not something on TV. A turning point. Didn't follow F1 in 1974, but came back in 1975.....but the loss of my hero was something important. Can't believe it's been 50 years
@@GamingSinceThe70s-pq9st his eyes were very bright blue.,,in the pits, he noticed that I was watching him climb in and out of the cars as the mechanics adjusted the shift linkage. The wall separating me from the cars was about 2 feet high and he walked over and looked down at me and said, " what do you think? Is it good?" I was too awed to speak and he laughed and tousled my hair. The fact that he remembered me on race day by winking from the cockpit sealed the deal. He was also followed by a gaggle of young women, something I noted to my father...." I didn't know that so many girls like racing!" Dad smiled at me and said, " remarkable, isn't it?"
A tragedy how Cevert died but the work which Stewart did to improve the safety in motorsport was such a tribute.
The 1970 March Tyrrell is at the British motor museum where I work and I often talk to visitors about these two.
Jacky Stewart a very great car racer and a great man.
Francois had one of the most beautiful helmet designs, ever!! RIP. Thank you Sky F1 for this episode.
Still has the most intense eye line of any driver
Jorge Martin in MotoGP has some intense eyes also
@@KapitanPisoar1it’s true but his eyes are gray-green and smaller.
Thank you for this beautiful tribute. Rest in Peace François. We love you forever.
Francois Cevert: truly a man’s man. He had the look, the eyes, the voice, the talent, he had it all; I think that legendary 1976 F1 season would’ve been MUCH different had he survived; RIP Francois.
Farewell François, you will never be forgotten
I remember his crash to this day. Over more than 28 years of involvement in motorsports, there are only three other on track deaths that have touched me as deeply. He was a driver on the cusp of greatness, but motor racing has always been a fickle mistress. Missed, but never forgotten!
What a team, what a team mate. RIP Francois.
9:14 - "I could miss gears as well, I didn't want to pass you because you missed a gear or because you made a mistake. I want to pass you when I'm better than you." - Francois Cevert
They don't make them like this anymore, now-a-days your teammate (metaphorically) will kill you in your sleep if it means that they can place better than you.
Maintaining good gear changes is part of coping under pressure. As such, it was a 'missed' opportunity and Francois should have capitalised as I'm certain Jackie would have done, given that situation. Hence why Jackie was upset with him.
François will always bring attention, he's magnetic.
Sir Jackie is a fantastic living legacy. He has lived through so much on and off the track, with friends and family. He deserves to enjoy his retirement.
Cevert was a rising star with a bright future ahead! : Regretably a most unfortunate freak accident cut his days short! : RIP
The pictures of Ceverts eyes through his helmet are just haunting.
RIP Mr Cevert 🙏
On of those drivers who was lost to us and who still makes you wonder what we lost out on
RIP Francois never ever forgotten.
My favorite driver of all time.
A horrendous death which I won't elaborate on but I loved how the cars handled in the 70s (pre 78 obviously). Even smoothies like Jackie were sliding through most corners and Ronnie was something else. If they could combine that with today's safety it would be great.
Four wheel drifting needs to come back, completely agree.
I don’t give a hoot about current F1 but only need to look at the proportions and wheelbase of the cars to know they’ll never do a proper slide worth watching… tractor-trailer like.
Sliding isn't fast. You like sliding, go watch World of Outlaws. Nothing wrong with it, but Formula 1 is about speed.@@DSW964
I was at the Glen that awful day. I will never forget the absolute silence which took over the track. And then the sadness which still persists.
Fantastic film. Always been fascinated by Francois and sad how quickly it ended for him with such a terrible accident. Thanks to @skysportsF1 for keeping his memory alive with films like this.
I only learnt about him recently. What a beautiful looking man. Having read some comments from people who were there his death was horrific. Poor Jackie having to see his remains must have been sickening.
4:04 - I wonder if Jo Ramirez ever had a talk with Senna after his infamous interview with Sir Jackie in Adelaide after the race in Suzuka 1990, to explain to him firsthand why Jackie felt the way he did about safety and what he had personally witnessed over the course of his professional career, to maybe offer Senna a unique perspective a few years earlier.
Is Jo Ramírez from latin América?
@@Luisml8 Mexican
Am I wrong, or was Jo Ramirez Cevert's chief mechanic?
francois. forever remembered as a young man
The Prince of F1.
The age of the Gentleman racer, could you imagine today's drivers teaching their teammate all they know, such a loss RIP
Perhaps then drivers were more keen to teaching young teammates as much as possible to keep them alive as much as team success. Today's drivers probably feel impervious to death
More ego nowadays.
Sir Jackie Stewart learned from perhaps the best F1 driver, Jim Clark. He was into giving and sharing. Not today. It's Me-Me times now.
So sad i am old enough to remember this talented young man,what a tragic loss!
Is that you grand pa??
thanks for this beautiful tribute!
What a guy, what a life, which he loved and he died instantly, doing what he loved the most and without knowing he was dying. There's much to envy.
50 anos de saudade sem fim.
What great people. What great race drivers. What a great story.
Thank you for this lovely tribute
not passing a driver for missing a gear
gentleman like conducts like that
will never happen today
sad but true
Impossible to miss a gear these days, but yes point taken.
Francois was definitely cut out for the f1 life of the 60’s and 70’s he liked his ladies was fearless and a talented driver that was taken too soon 🙏
My dad was there that day. He used to work for the press director at Watkins Glen and had got to know Francois enough to say hi every year when they'd come. He said he was walking through the pit lane with a young lady right before Cevert was to go out on track. Gave my dad a little thumbs up, and lost his life ten minutes later. Wish my dad was still here to tell this himself.
Francois Cevert would have been France's first World Champion, what a loss. His fatal accident was one of the most horrific in Formula One. Unbelieveable that a year later those same Armco barriers were still on the track of Watkins Glen...as if the lives of those F1 drivers were worth nothing. The barriers at Watkins Glen killed Helmuth Koinigg in 1974, in a similarly horrible way as Cevert's death. May they rest in peace.
And big respect to Jackie Stewart who helped tremendously to make this sport safer. He is a hero.
His younger brother first heard of his death from television. He went to tell the family in the other room "Francois died". He did some racing also but not on the same level.
A great video, really great to hear more about him.
I watched his story by an Italian RUclipsr, it made me so sad, life cut short so fast.
Lovely tribute Jackie, what a shame.
He dies in my 17th birthday, because I’m born in 1956/10/06 RIP Francois! 🙏
I was the.there.....50 years ago..Sad..RIP Francois
Opens Roads François, 🏁 Remembering you... 50 years gone today x 💙
I WAS THERE THAT DAY AT WATKINS GLEN, AND OF COURSE WILL NEVER FORGET THE SHOCK AROUND THAT RACE TRACK. HE WAS SO DYNAMIC, SO FULL OF LIFE AND ONE HECK OF A DRIVER. I RECALL THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF STEWART DROPPING OUT OF THE UPCOMING RACE, BUT OF COURSE IT WAS VERY UNDERSTANDABLE. HE DID THE RIGHT THING. RIP MR. CEVERT. SURELY THEY HAVE GOLDEN PAVED FORMULA 1 TRACKS IN HEAVEN.
Jackie did a lot for f1 I hope we never have another death in f 1
Merci de perpétuer sa mémoire 👍
I remember that dark day well. I was walking around the track taking pictures of the cars going around, when suddenly it all stopped and became very quiet, then I found out the reason…
People compare drivers of different eras in some hope of justifying to themselves who they think is the best. This era of F1 was so much about 'one mistake and you are dead' that to be champion three times back then was such an achievement that we cannot really quantify it. Stewart was not only one of the greats, he won in a dangerous era, made few mistakes, and worked tirelessly to make the sport safer for everyone.
Cevert never got the chance to prove himself, a tragedy in itself, but he will always be remembered and celebrated for the person he was, and he certainly lit up the circus of F1 back then. RIP Francois.
Even 50 years later JYS doesn't really want to talk about what he saw that day
One of the worst fatal f1 crashes
From a time when there was proper respect between teammates
That era was unmatched. It's a shame so many great talents died. Rindt, Villeneuve, Cevert. All had so much more to accomplish.
Thank you.
Great driver! The barriers at Watkins Glen were ridiculous for F1 cars. 🏁
It was the Armco with space underneath it that allowed his car to partially "submarine" under it, killing him instantly. Piss poor design!
@@richardmccaughey5928 You are so right! Sad day much like Helmuth Kionigg the next year! (Ruhe in frieden)🏁
@@richardmccaughey5928On the photographs, you see the back of the car above the safety rail not below. I think he died cut off by the sheet métal of his car not because of safety rail. Tragic ending.
Just a better class of character in those days.
Damn straight... not like today .. bunch of millionaires spoilt brats racing
A talent that was taken too soon - very much like Stefan Bellof 😢
In a different series, Henri Toivonen also comes to mind.
Jochen Rindt was also taken to soon. He was one year younger than Francois Cevert when he died on 5th September 1970.
Rest in peace.
He was cool and great driver… He was Rock Star cool dude…
François cevert era um anjo lindo e voltou pra o céu ❤
Thank you
His fatal crash is similar to what happened with Grosjean 3 years ago.
"Uno debe elegir: Dirigir tu vida, disfrutando y haciendo algo que puede llegar a matarte, o hacer otra cosa que te aburra. Yo no estoy dispuesto a aburrirme"
"Me tomaría más valor dejar de correr que el que me toma seguir haciéndolo"
"Disfruto con todos los momentos de mi vida, es casi increíble. Hay muy pocas cosas de las que debo hacer que no me gusten. De momento, soy el hombre más feliz del mundo”
"Conducía como si estuviese en el infierno y no pensaba lo suficiente. Jackie me enseñó cómo se debe analizar un auto, cómo se debe pensar cuando se maneja, la visión que se debe tener. Él hizo toda mi educación"
"En las carreras no hay lugar para las lágrimas. Siguen a pesar de las tragedias"
François Cevert
"Llegué y me quedé paralizado por el horror, había humo y vapor por todas partes… y allí, todavía atrapado por el cinturón de seguridad, estaba mi compañero de equipo, mi protegido, mi amigo, mi hermano pequeño... Estaba muerto"
"Poco a poco, François se estaba volviendo más y más fuerte en carrera. Era obvio que hubiese acabado siendo campeón del mundo. Era suficientemente bueno como para ganarme, tenía ambición, y habría acabado siendo el número 1 del equipo"
"Algunas personas lo consideraban un playboy. Le gustaba vestir con estilo, y una vez llegó a mostrar una presencia espectacular cuando se presentó con un abrigo de piel hasta las rodillas y un collar de peces. Le expliqué todo lo que sabía. La relación funcionó porque él tenía poca experiencia y muchas ganas. Muchos pilotos se contentan con servirse del talento natural que Dios les dio; pocas veces tienen que esforzarse más allá de lo que les han dado. Pero, para los realmente buenos, eso es solo una base"
Jackie Stewart
"En un GP de Holanda, Stewart lideraba, con Cevert detrás y Jackie perdió una marcha. François no quiso adelantarle, porque quería ganar por habilidad, no porque tuviese un problema"
"François era un hombre del que era difícil no sentirse cerca. Estaba lleno de vida, amado por las mujeres. Parecía más una estrella de cine o un rico playboy que un piloto, pero era realmente un piloto muy bueno. Un hombre de muchos talentos"
"Había un camión que iba a salir hacia la zona del accidente. Iba a subirme, pero Jody Scheckter, que acababa de volver al pit lane, me gritó: ‘¡No vayas! ¡Ni se te ocurra!’ Entonces, el corazón se hundió en mi pecho"
"El accidente ocurrió el sábado 6, el número del auto era el 6, el chasis era el 006 y el motor era el 066. No soy supersticioso. Sin embargo cuando volvimos a Inglaterra y se mandó el motor a Cosworth para revisarlo. Los mecánicos lo desarmaron y pusieron el block sobre un banco de trabajo. Sorpresivamente, ellos vieron esta enorme y pesada masa de aluminio moverse del banco y golpear contra el piso (...) Por las caras de los dos mecánicos, había que creer que algo había pasado, casi como si François estuviera tratando de decir algo"
Jo Ramírez
"Cuando salió a pista por última vez, me dijo ‘Pondré el auto en la pole’. Era así de decidido. Los momentos posteriores a su accidente fuero durísimos. Estuve a punto de dejar la competición"
Ken Tyrrell
"El día que murió Cevert fue uno de los más tristes de mi carrera"
Emerson Fittipaldi
"Cuando fui a poner flores en la pista de Watkins Glen en el 40° aniversario de la muerte de Cevert se estaba disputando una carrera amateur. En el momento en que yo estaba investigando en qué lugar se había despistado, una rueda se salió de un auto y fue a pegar contra la malla de protección exactamente en ese lugar. Jackie Stewart ha dicho que, para aquellos que creen, el espíritu de Cevert estaba rondando y haciéndose notar"
Connie Ann Kirk
"François, hijo de un joyero tenía la pureza de un diamante. Si su trayectoria no se hubiera quebrado contra una barrera, en 1974 hubiese sido el primer francés campeón del mundo en la historia de la Fórmula 1"
Xavier Chimits "Pilotos legendarios de la Fórmula 1" página 144. Edimat Libros, 2007.
"Jackie, Ferrari me hizo una oferta. Algún día tengo que seguir mi camino, y tu relación con Ken es tan buena que quizás nunca pueda ganarte. Tengo que buscar otro equipo"
François Cevert a Jackie Stewart días antes del Gran Premio de Canadá 1973
Saludos desde Venezuela
In one sense a tragic waste of a talented racing driver,and a well rounded human being.But no one knows the danger more than the driver this is what he wanted to do with his life RIP
Terribly sad. JYS an international treasure.
I had just started racing single craters that year. Was at the Glen and waiting to go thru the Tunnel to the infield when Francois crashed . Saw the car come over the barrier. Such a sad day. I think he would have been the First French World Champion the following year.
Single Seaters , darn auto fill
50 years today. As the song goes -'Who knows where the time goes?''.
Sadly, it was all so avoidable - he was pushing far too hard for pole, very possibly because he feared being replaced at Tyrrell for 1974, and shouldn't even have raced that weekend because of the bad injuries to his ankles in a big shunt in Canada in the previous GP.
That is often an overlooked point. Francois didn't know JYS was retiring and there were rumours abound about Jody being signed for '74. Cevert was a man under pressure when there wasn't any pressure at all...
@@djh29971 Hi. yes indeed. To my knowledge nobody's ever asked Jackie (I'm not saying anyone should, to this day he's still so upset about Cevert's death) whether he feels guilty about keeping Cevert in the dark like that, especially since Francois knew about Scheckter's potential arrival. I understand Jackie not telling Helen (assuming it's true, though why would he lie?), but can't see the reasoning with Francois.
Having said that, maybe it was just that Jackie and Ken planned a big surprise for Cevert at the end of the race (Ken had asked Jackie to let Francois through to win and Jackie says he was thinking about it). Look how great it would have been - Tyrrell being Constructors' Champions and the No 1 place being handed over to Cevert during the celebrations. They were very keen to win the Constructors - Ken brought the weirdly neglected Chris Amon in as a third driver in both Canada and the Glen - allowed in those days! And then of course the team withdrew from the race and Lotus nipped in and won the Constructors' Championship.
@@GamingSinceThe70s-pq9st Indeed - it was like a still badly injured Graham Hill driving in the 1970 South African GP despite having to be lifted into and out of his car! Unbelievable.
The circumstances of Cevert’s death due to the car penetrating the Armco barriers are bad enough but it is nothing short of scandalous that Helmuth Koinigg died in just the same way at the same circuit the following year.
Helmuth was beheaded wasn't he? Horrific.
Cevert. Bloody hell.
Cevert hatte eine unglaubliche Ausstrahlung. Sein Tod war eine Tragödie. Er wäre Frankreichs erster F1 Weltmeister geworden.
The accident of Winkelhock from about 30 years ago still remains a mystery when he crashed into a concrete wall
Ah the swinging 60'sw/70s when Jackie Stewart would pick his teammate cause he wanted his super hot sister around!!!
Its a big lost.. he will be probably the First French World Champion RIP Legend 😢😢😢😢
13:54 Because of that shorter wheelbase the car was more sensitive to a higher revving engine. Taking the Esses a gear higher with a lower revving engine (so around the same speed but with less RPM) would make the car more stable.
Young Cillian Murphy and Steve Coogan could play Francois and Jackie if they were making a movie about him back then. The resemblance is uncanny.
AMOR ETERNO 😢💔💗💕💘
Car 6, engine number 6, driver number 6, 6th of October nah that’s a bad omen if I’ve ever heard on
That's my goat chat
Happy birthday Francois, 25 february
When was this broadcast? Mark Hughes isn't with Autosport now.
You can see in the background the staff of Lotus (kimi/grosjean) period
It was first broadcast the weekend of the Korean GP 2013
One of many sad stories of unfulfilled talent in F1 around that time.. far too many gone too soon
. Pianiste & Fast..🙄⚡🌿
i belive that another french driver few years before he would have the same almost accindent and the same result.but he was lucky becouse HALLO save his life at bahrain.grozian his name.
Good driver, though had he lived, in my opinion I think he would have struggled to become a world champion, he had great driving ability but really benefited from Stewart's presence in setting up the car. The fighting racer instinct in him also didnt seem to be consistent or as strong compared with other racers at that time and from 74 and onwards the likes of Fittipaldi, Scheckter Andretti, Peterson, Hunt, Lauda were either on the scene or coming onto the scene. Personally I dont think his ability would have got the better over those racers for a championship.
Agreed. I never saw him as a lost world champion. Tyrrell began a steep decline after Stewart's retirement. I suspect Cevert, had he lived, would stayed with Tyrrell for a few more years before probably heading up the Renault factory effort for a few more years. He would have won 4-6 races, in my opinion had he raced until the late 70s-early 80s.
I also agree. The great ones , the future champions do not wait. They try to immediately be faster than the teammate star. No matter who. In 1979 Piquet immediately was as fast as Lauda , trying to beat him from the go. Villeneuve immediately was fighting Hill in 1996. Hamilton was also beating Alonso in 2007. The great ones do not wait . Personally , I think Scheckter would beat Cevert in 1974 .
" unfortunately he got into a corner " too hot " then the car got " off line " and the backend hit the guard rail sending him out of control !: rip
Reminder to all of us to be right with God at all times because you never know when it's your time to go... and you're not guaranteed to be given a chance for final repentance.
Alguns pontos que gostaria de contribuir, onde vou escrever bem pouco no que diz no campo espiritual, que foi onde em um grupo espírita francês foi citado sobre ele e sua missão, mas principalmente no campo esportivo que é pertinente ao canal.
Sou de 1980, mas no programa GRANDES MOMENTOS DO ESPORTE foi onde vi ele pela primeira vez,
1º em um documentário falando sobre acidentes na F1 no início dos anos 90, onde falo que a TV em preto-e-branco aparecendo sua imagem com aqueles olhos azuis me assustaram e impactaram, mas em 1993 nos 20 anos de sua partida no mesmo programa e com narração do Celso Miranda, ali quis saber mais sobre ele mesmo sem a internet o que foi difícil mas consegui como disse com o tempo e por ligações espirituais.
Só nessa parte, quero falar que o grande amor da sua vida se chamava “Ninou”, e por meio de uma cartomante ela soube que o grande amor de sua vida não chegaria aos 30 anos, e que ele também já tinha uma noção disso quase que como um Jimi Hendrix ou Jim Morrison das pistas, hoje Ninou tem em seu acervo e tenho em jpeg´s. Imagens de seu cartão de crédito, passaporte e agenda pessoal planejando o que fazer após WG e a chave de seu último dormitório. Sua casa também pelo google maps é possível ver, hoje é uma rua comercial.
Voltando ao âmbito esportivo gostaira de confirmar com informações que teria que vasculhar meus arquivos mas creio que se encontra na internet mas que fiquem a vontade em corrigir de forma respeitosa.
- A globo não levou equipe para a corrida pois como estava definida o campeonato era necessário pensar no orçamento, além do “Galvão Bueno” da época morrer em um desastre aéreo. Júlio Delamare.
- Se cogitou que ele também poderia estar de ressaca no dia, na noite anterior ele ficou até tarde com Jackie, Helen e seu cunhado falando desde Muhammad Ali, férias e sobre a “passagem do cetro”. O casal saiu antes e Cevert ficou com JP Beltoise mais um pouco no hall.
-Em 1974 estava sendo desenhado um 3º piloto mas que saindo Jackie se tornaria o “pupilo” de Cevert, juro não lembrar o nome e a categoria creio que alguma fórmula inglesa, mas ele também morreu degolado em uma corrida, no caso foi em árvores.
- Tenho em VHS, reportagens de Emerson Fittipaldi isso em 2008,9 por aí ele falando do Cevert no Amauri Jr e mesmo assim ainda arrancou lágrimas tamanho o carinho, a F1 a morte era uma companheira, mas Cevert foi o 1º que todo o circo sentiu, tem um relato do JP Beltoise falando sobre como foi recolher os pertences dele, como disse, hoje parte no acervo de Ninou.
-Outra Citação que vi e tem no youtube foi do “pofexô” Vanderlei Luxemburgo em 1997 citando ele como motivo para assistir as corridas e do Gil Brother “away” onde em um podcast falou de grandes pilotos e falou de nomes como: Reggazoni, Peterson, Giovanni Salvatti e François Cevert.
É isso, não sou de fazer textão, mas não posso deixar de contribuir e falar de alguém que como disse, não se trata de falar apenas de um piloto, em outros fóruns falo do homem, do ser de Luz e de sua missão em outros planos. Mas aqui é o grande François Cevert, que em um ano muito cabuloso levou gênios como Jarno Saarinen e Bruce Lee.
Abs. a todos.
Is it true that his head got decapitated when he went through the barrier?
No, not true. It was Helmuth Koinigg who was decapitated in Watkins Glen, a year after Cevert's death.
"It was one of these accidents you should never see." Was he decapitated?
It was Helmuth Koinigg who was decapitated a year after Cevert's death, on the same track in Watkins Glen, in 1974. Cevert's body was torn apart into two pieces.
This was nice. Sky Sports might be woke nonsense but occasionally they can do. something worthwhile
I was born 18 years after he died, but what a waste
He answered that by winning the sprint race the next day
François Cevert was a French citizen of Jewish ancestry during NSDAP occupation of France. His birth name was Albert Goldenberg. Had this name change not happened, he likely would have ended up in a concentration camp. How F1 history would differ without this young talented driver?? Did you know this?
Formula one drivers of today are very selfish and lack humility, they could learn a lot from people like Francois and Jackie.
What in the world?
Sorry but Jackie has always had a weird obsession with the cevert’s beauty.
Well, Jackie didn’t look like a model, maybe he was jealous about it :)
The whole world had that obsession. I'm a straight male (an accident of birth) and I couldn't help but notice!
@@richardmccaughey5928something that’s the norm isn’t an accident, it’s simply something that’s more likely to happen than anything else. If anything can be called an accident, it’s the thing that happens a lot less frequently. Although I don’t see why the word would be used at all in this situation.
If you can't acknowledge someone is/was handsome you're probably in the closet.
Oh, Mon Dieu!,,don' let tha' nancy boy, Macron' see this..she think she tha' mos' exciting..est vrai, non?..
Stewart knew that the badly mounted guardreils in Watkins Glen were dangerous. He did nothing to change that.
Francois was playing around with evil...He saw a Medium, he was living in sin (girlfriends galore), he thought that 666 was a good thing 😢. He was doomed. I really liked him, he had potential, but he was messing around with evil...
The wages of sin is death.
That's not a nice thing to say would you like it if someone said that about you it was not as safe as it is today look at the drivers today they break up with there girlfriends and a few weeks later they have a new one even today they put there lives on the line
What a strange fascination you have
Wow, 666 girlfriends.
and you have some screws loose
This guys death stopped 10000 children being conceived . A moments silence for those that could have been
What an absolutely ridiculous thing to say!
He had a big nose, bad teeth and frizzy hair.
Exciting ? He’s dead !