On Nov. 15, One Night for One Drop returns to The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Held the night before the inaugural Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, the anticipated gala will be honorarily chaired by Formula 1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart. Here, the decorated driver sounds off.
What excites you most about the upcoming One Night for One Drop (onedrop.org)? The One Night for One Drop gala will be the start of some extraordinary days in Las Vegas; it will be wonderful to see the Grand Prix there, as Las Vegas is one of the most exciting cities in the world. I admire everything my friend Guy Laliberte [founder of Cirque du Soleil, One Drop Foundation and Lune Rouge] has achieved and all he has done to establish One Drop. I am delighted to be the honorary chair and part of this wonderful event.
Why is One Drop an organization that resonates with you? Water is essential to everyone on the planet. Both Guy and I are in a race to accelerate progress in one form or another. He and his team at One Drop empower global communities with access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. My team at Race Against Dementia (raceagainstdementia.com) is using a Formula 1 approach to try and find a global cure for dementia, something I want to happen within my lifetime.
Which Formula 1 drivers do you currently have your eye on? During the last few years, Max Verstappen has dominated the world of Formula 1. He’s young, glamorous, exciting and successful. He’s also extremely modest, which is always rare to see. It’s been a great season for Verstappen, his teammate from Mexico, Sergio Perez, and the Red Bull Team as a whole. McLaren is another team to watch, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and, of course, there is Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at Mercedes, who have regularly challenged Verstappen—all extraordinary talents.
Out of your many professional racing accomplishments, which means the most? Winning the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in torrential rain. I won the race by over four minutes, and for a Grand Prix, that is unique.
What do you hope your legacy will be? Challenging the establishment and creating change. The greatest challenge I faced as a Formula 1 Grand Prix racing driver was assisting the series, featuring the finest cars and drivers in the world, to overcome the tragedies of the past, when almost all of my personal friends lost their lives driving Formula 1 cars. I managed to change that terrible statistic, which didn’t make me popular, but kept me and many of those around me alive. Later on, after my children were born, I discovered that I was dyslexic. I challenged the world of education to ensure that all children receive their education, whether they live with dyslexia or not. Today, I am the president of Dyslexia Scotland and a vice president of the British Dyslexia Association, and we work tirelessly to ensure that the condition is identified as early as possible. However, the greatest challenge of my lifetime is because my wife of over 60 years, Helen, has dementia. Over 55 million people worldwide live with dementia, but currently, there is no cure. I founded Race Against Dementia to find that cure.
Dream car collection: What are your top three rides? The Matra-Ford, ’73 Cosworth Tyrrell-Ford and P4 Ferrari
Photography by: PHOTO BY STEWART WRITTLE
