Jacky Ickx: Belgium’s F1 + Le Mans legend

F1: Beyond The Grid

karenellenbevan

Leisure, Sports, Technology, Automotive

4.8 • 5.2K Ratings

🗓️ 5 August 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jacky Ickx didn’t grow up wanting to be a racing driver, so how did he become Belgium’s most successful Formula 1 driver and one of the most versatile racers in the history of motorsport?

Competing in all types of cars and competitions, not only did Jacky win eight F1 races and finish runner-up in the Drivers’ Standings twice, he was also a serial winner in Le Mans, the World Endurance Championship and even the Paris-Dakar rally.

Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Jacky tells the remarkable story of how he made his Formula 1 debut in a Formula 2 car at the 1966 German Grand Prix. At that time, F2 cars were allowed to race alongside F1 machinery because of how long the iconic Nürburgring Nordschleiffe track was.

Jacky reveals how his impressive performance that day led to him joining Ferrari in 1968, why he left the team after just one season, only to return a year later, and what his relationship with Enzo Ferrari was like.

Jacky also remembers how he felt finishing runner-up in 1970 to Jochen Rindt, the only driver to be crowned World Champion posthumously, and you’ll hear the story of his inspirational one-man protest on track that changed the safety of Le Mans forever.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Not many drivers have made their Formula One debut in a Formula 2 car.
0:07.0	Then again, not many drivers have left Ferrari and then returned there.
0:12.0	But Jackie Ix is unique.
0:15.0	I'm not joking when I tell you I wanted to be be a governor or a gamekeeper.
0:21.8	I never did what I want.
0:25.1	Remarkable then that Jackie became Belgium's most successful F1 driver
0:29.6	and one of the most versatile races in motorsport history.
0:34.2	As well as winning eight Formula One races,
0:36.7	Jackie won Le Mans six times,
0:38.8	the World Endurance Championship twice,
0:41.1	and even the Parry-Dakar rally in the African Desert.
0:44.7	But it's not the success that Jackie remembers the most.
0:47.7	It's how racing changed him as a person.
0:50.9	It's a miracle to be alive when I think about all I've done. It's not a matter of talent. It's
0:58.8	only a matter of luck. My vision on the world and the people change completely because instead of
1:06.9	being focused on winning, winning, winning, I have a vision on other people, living other type of life.
1:15.3	You become a better person.
1:19.6	Here on F1 Beyond the Grid with me, Tom Clarkson,
1:23.8	Jackie takes me back to the 1966 German Grand Prix,
1:30.3	where his Formula One career began in a rather bizarre fashion by today's standards. Back then, F2 cars were allowed to race alongside F1
1:36.5	cars at the Nürberg Ring Nordschleifer because it was such a long track, three times longer than
1:42.4	Spa, the longest circuit on today's F1 calendar.
	...

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