Sir Jackie Stewart drives F1 car one last time in support of dementia charity

Sir Jackie Stewart drove a Formula One car for what he believes will be the final time at the Bahrain Grand Prix wearing a special helmet signed by every living champion.

The three-time world champion drove the Sakhir circuit in his 1973 championship-winning Tyrell, in honour of his charity Race Against Dementia.

The unique helmet will be used to raise money for the charity set up by Stewart, 85, in 2016, after his wife Helen began suffering from the disease.

As first revealed by the Daily Mail, the helmet was signed by seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher with the aid of his wife Corinna.

Schumacher had a skiing accident in the French Alps in December 2013 where he hit his head on a rock and suffered a near-fatal brain injury.

Schumacher, now 56, has been kept out of public view ever since, with only a handful of visitors allowed inside the family home near Lake Geneva in Switzerland, where he is receiving round-the-clock medical care.

Stewart told reporters, including the PA news agency, that it was likely to be the final time he got behind the wheel of an F1 car.

F1 helmets don't get much more special than this ❤️

Featuring an iconic ring of tartan, Sir Jackie Stewart's one-of-a-kind helmet is signed by all 20 living F1 champions#F1 @racingdementia pic.twitter.com/zGG1OPBQT3

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 13, 2025

“I would have thought that’s it,” he said. “It was one idea that came from my sons actually, not from me, because of Race Against Dementia.

“You don’t forget where first gear, fifth gear is. The car felt wonderful.

“I mean, we didn’t go fast, but the whole feeling of the car was great.”

Stewart’s youngest son Mark, who is chair of the trustees of Race Against Dementia, revealed it took a year to get all 20