STRAIGHT TALK
Mark Gallagher on Jackie Stewart’s enduring earning power
With Sir Jackie Stewart recently turning 80 it is worth reflecting on the business career of a driver who has never stopped working and earning in Formula 1, 46 years after hanging up his helmet.
While three world titles, 27 race victories and 16 other podiums from 99 starts are one measure of success, his 40-year ambassadorships with Ford Motor Company and the Moet & Chandon champagne house have always shown him to have an appeal far beyond the cockpit. In his 2007 autobiography, Winning Is Not Enough, Stewart wrote about how a truly motivated driver can ‘add value’ to commercial sponsorships.
On the back of creating Stewart Grand Prix, later sold to Ford, he nurtured deals with companies including banking group HSBC.
He then introduced the Royal Bank of Scotland to Williams, has been a central figure in Rolex’s deal with F1 since 2013 and helped attract Heineken to the sport.
His Rolex brand ambassadorship has lasted for half a century, having first been introduced to him in 1968 by Mark Mccormack, the legendary founder of the IMG sports management group. Mccormack lined up ‘JYS’ at Rolex alongside golfer Arnold Palmer and downhill skier Jean-claude Killy. Sporting royalty, in other words.
Very few drivers have followed Stewart in sustaining a successful Formula 1-based career. Such incomes can be measured in the millions annually, whether for major brand ambassadorships or $150,000 one-hour appearances.
It’s a complex formulae, admittedly.
First you need to have enjoyed a successful career, by which
I mean winning multiple races if not world championships. All Formula 1 drivers are well known in their home countries, but to unlock real earning power a driver needs to be globally famous.
Secondly you need to have the inherent desire and hunger to work beyond racing. Some, such as Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso, have developed strong sponsor and business interests. Others seem happy to do a spot of racing or light TV work.
Then there is David Coulthard. A decade after ending his F1 racing career he enjoys half a dozen brand ambassadorships, undertakes promotional drives for Red Bull, commentates for Channel 4,and owns one of the UK’S fastest growing TV production companies.
He recalls when, aged 14 and racing karts, his father sat him down to talk through a career plan. Even then it included moving to Monaco and emulating James Hunt by evolving into TV commentary. He also remembers being mentored by Stewart on topics ranging from personal presentation to building business relationships.
Much depends on the individual driver. Damon Hill relates that when he retired from F1 he felt jaded and disillusioned to the point of not even wanting to watch a race on TV. He also spent five years trying to unwind some of the onerous deals his business manager had put in place. Not a happy time, yet Damon was so marketable.
Willi Weber, former manager of Damon’s arch-rival Michael Schumacher, told me that Michael earned around US$30 million in the first year of retirement post-ferrari. Like Stewart, he understood his value to sponsors. The offers flooded in.
Stewart’s latest project, Race Against Dementia – launched in the wake of wife Helen being afflicted by this devastating disease – is in itself an indication of the power inherent in the Stewart name and legacy. He last raced in 1973, yet is still making a difference and adding value. How many will be doing that in 2065?