Driving for Wolf, Jody Scheckter stunned the established Formula 1 teams in 1977 by winning for the team on its debut in Argentina. Two more victories in Monaco and Canada proved that it was no fluke, and Scheckter finished the season second in the World Championship to Niki Lauda. 1978 was not as productive and brought no further victories. Scheckter realised that, to have a shot at the title, he would have to move. For 1979 he was destined to join Gilles Villeneuve at Ferrari.
The Ferrari 312T4 may have looked as though it was designed in the dark but it was a highly effective Formula 1 car. While Villeneuve grabbed the headlines with his spectacular battle with René Arnoux in France and his refusal to give up despite only having three wheels left in Holland, Scheckter steadily racked up points.
At Monza the Ferrari’s ran 1-2, with Villeneuve shadowing Scheckter. To have any chance of taking the title Villeneuve would need to have passed his team-mate, but it was not his style. Scheckter took the title while Villeneuve was content in the knowledge that, over one lap at least, he was the fastest driver in the world. Despite fighting for the title the two men were close friends, as Scheckter related in an interview published in the May 2008 issue of Motor Sport magazine;
"Gilles was a great guy and we got on really well... Above all he was honest. A very honest, honourable guy, honest to the point of being naive."
Scheckter stayed with Ferrari for 1980 but that year’s T5 was hopelessly uncompetitive. At Monaco Scheckter even failed to qualify while Villeneuve could only manage a couple of lowly points finishes during the season. At the end of the year Scheckter walked away from Formula 1 to begin a new chapter in his extraordinary life.
Having retired from racing Scheckter was soon demonstrating his talents as a businessman. Having established and built up a highly successful weapons training company in America he sold it for an enormous profit. His next venture was to start an organic farm at Laverstoke Park in England, which takes up much of his time today.
Scheckter’s older brother, Ian, also competed in Formula 1 during the 1970s, but with nowhere near the same success. Scheckter’s sons, Tomas and Toby, both followed their father into racing. Tomas has competed for several seasons in American Indy racing and was, at one point, a Jaguar Formula 1 test driver.
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