Jacky Ickx on his complicity with his daughter: « I encourage these parent-child moments »

Difficult to stop him. As usual, Jacky Ickx is always talkative when it comes to responding to the press. A look back on the great moments of his career, his relationship with his daughter, Vanina, and his vision of safety in the 1970s. The Belgian spoke candidly.

Going from Cooper to Ferrari so quickly must have been a significant change for you.

One of the triggering elements was my third time at the Nürburgring with Formula 2. The truth is, that performance caught people's attention. Two years earlier, I had participated in the 86 Hours of Nürburgring, which was a race that replaced the Liège-Rome-Liège, it was legendary. It represented a challenge, a certain demand, and endurance. It matters. I had achieved a good result.

But beyond the third place in Formula 2, it is the point I scored at Monza. There was also immense satisfaction in meeting Jochen Rindt, who was my first mentor in F1.

The reality is that I had signed with Ferrari in September, I believe, and nobody knew it. One day, a journalist was sent to see if I was interested in going to Ferrari. I'll let you guess what my answer was.

In the documentary « When Drivers Play with Death », the safety in F1 during the 1970s was discussed. It is said that you did not have the same perspective on things as Jackie Stewart.

It's not quite that. We had the same goal, which was to improve safety and reduce risks. But where we disagreed was on how to proceed. From my point of view, it was pointless to want to strike upon arriving at a Grand Prix and to have demands at that moment.

For years, we let things happen without asking anything. The arrival of the guardrails and everything that goes with them took time. To request such things from the circuits, it had to be done well in advance. An assessment had to be made early on to see what needed improvement.

The success of motorsport is safety.

I grew up at a time when I was free to ride. People often say we were brave, but no one forced us to race. We just loved it. In life, when you want something, you have to give it your all. To win a title, you have to dedicate yourself full-time. It's hard to be scattered here and there. You also have to make good choices and have good opportunities.

Look, Stoffel Vandoorne, he won everything, he's an insane hard worker. He arrived at McLaren in F1, and it was very tough; it took a toll on his morale. I don't want to speak for him, but I think that mentally, it still affects him. Today, he's with Peugeot in WEC, which is great, but the car isn't yet playing a leading role. I hope that will change.

There is the case of Fernando Alonso, which is also interesting. He was at a point where things were no longer working with McLaren. The team gave him the chance to go to the Indianapolis 500, which was his dream. The management showed a certain class and fair play. But in this situation, it was necessary. This stint at Indy was a godsend for his morale.

You speak of Jochen Rindt as a mentor, but he was also a competitor for the title.

He had stature at that time. He had a hell of a knack for driving. He competed in touring, endurance races. He won Le Mans nonetheless. But what I remember most is that he was one of my mentors.

During several races, you wore an original helmet with a hard protection between the eyes...

With the evolution of safety, we have seen the appearance of metal mesh and metal cladding in escape routes. I wore this Simpson helmet just in case, to prevent a wire from touching my face.

In Le Mans, there's that legendary moment when, at the start, you are the only one walking while the others run to reach their cars.

It is often said that it's thanks to me that there is no longer a Le Mans-type start. For me, it was inconceivable to get into a car and drive at over 300, 330 km/h without being strapped in. It was absurd. Because at the time, to save time, drivers didn't fasten their seat belts at the start.

Unfortunately, in the first round, there was a serious accident. John Woolfe lost his life. I don't know if it was because he hadn't fastened his seatbelt, but it gave meaning to my gesture, it proved me right, and things changed. For me, he is the one who made things change. He is one of those men who had an accident and who moved the lines thereafter.

You also participated in the 1977 edition by driving two cars. How did you end up in this situation?

In the first car, with Henri Pescarolo, we abandoned after three hours of racing. The regulations allowed for entry as a reserve with another team. So I continued with another Porsche. And we won the race.

It may be a bit pretentious, but that day, I really piloted well. When you're a hunter, it's motivating because you're on the lookout. The most extraordinary thing is that when you're motivated and confident, you manage to surpass yourself. And it's a feeling that can be transmitted to your teammates. In 1977, everyone excelled. From a lost race, everyone started to believe in it.

Your daughter, Vanina, had a great career in motorsport. You participated in the 24 Hours of Spa and the Dakar together.

Vanina studied biology and it was only in her final year that she started karting. She was brilliant, really. She drove well and continued down that path.

We shared a Renault Mégane at the 24 Hours of Spa. We didn't have good brakes. We didn't have the same ones as the other team car, so we kept pushing, pushing. But we lost a considerable amount of time. Unfortunately, Vanina went off the track at the Raidillon. But one thing is certain, even back then, she was already very fast. Much faster than me.

She was also my co-driver in the Dakar. Personally, I don't really like being driven fast (laughter).

Above all, I encourage these parent-child moments. They are magical moments. It's worth it. All these experiences allow for an incredible closeness.

You mentioned the constant fear your parents felt every weekend when you were racing. Did you feel the same way with Vanina?

Everyone knows that even if you did everything right, fate is still there with the door open. It's the law of motorsport.

Since the beginning of this year, she has joined the Iron Dames. Did she talk to you before embarking on the adventure again?

No, we didn't communicate. I was informed of this news. We have nothing more to say to someone who is 50 years old, or even to someone who is 23 for that matter. It's our freedom.

I know she performed well in her first race, even if it ended badly because we sent her teammate (Marta Garcia, Ed.) into the wall. She is fit like no one else. She makes videos of her sessions with her coach, she is in shape, sharp.

Women have made their mark in the history of motorsport. Will we soon see more at the highest level?

In our time, cars were much more difficult and physical, today they are more assisted. I see that there is the F1 Academy, which can be a stepping stone. I am convinced that there is no reason why a woman cannot be as performant as a man.

We are in a societal shift where women are tending to achieve equality with men, but it is still not guaranteed.

And I would like to remind everyone that the best example is Michèle Mouton, who was a hair's breadth away from taking the title from Walter Röhrl in rally racing. What she accomplished is magnificent.