BEYOND THE GRID: Jacky Ickx on winning in F1 with Ferrari, starring at Le Mans and more

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 Ickx win eight F1 races and finish runner-up in the Drivers’ Standings twice, but he was also a serial winner in Le Mans, the World Endurance Championship and even the Paris-Dakar rally.

Speaking to Beyond The Grid host Tom Clarkson, Ickx tells the remarkable story of how he made his F1 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 Nordschleife track was.

Ickx reveals how his impressive performances in the F2 car 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.

Ickx 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.

To listen to this week’s episode, simply hit go on the audio player above or click here to listen via your preferred podcasting platform.

You can also check out a huge selection of previous episodes – spanning every decade of F1 – in our dedicated Beyond The Grid library here.