“The modern world no longer wants to hear about fate. Even the risk—inherent in motorsport—is seen as a consciously accepted risk.” Talking to Jacky Ickx always offers a unique and deeply insightful perspective. After all, Jacky has made motorsport history—from Formula 1 to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the legendary Paris-Dakar Rally when it was still held in Africa. He talks about cars, yes—but also about the life that comes with them.

At 80 years old, you wouldn’t know it. Walking through the paddock at Monza, he wears the shirt of Genesis, for whom he is an ambassador on the 24 Hours of Le Mans project. “I’m the driver who raced the longest of them all—and one of the few still alive from my generation.”

Formula 1 has changed, and so has the notion of risk. “Society no longer tolerates the idea of fatality, let alone death. There’s no room for error or free choice anymore. Racing is an incredible cocktail of technology, human element, and then there’s the factor of luck. I was always fortunate and skilled enough to race with the best cars, and that reduced the risk. Because when you don’t have a competitive car, the driver is forced to push harder—and that exposes them to more mistakes.”

“Today we’re talking about battles decided by hundredths of a second, not tenths. The margins are razor-thin, and what makes the difference are the most infinitesimal details. It’s a quid, an essence. And I’m not just talking about material things.”

In a world of machines, Ickx insists that the human factor still matters enormously: “Each car has about 50 engineers working on it, and into the cockpit you drop another machine—the driver. Performance is a very complex combination of these two mechanisms. Of course, if you don’t have a good car, it’s hard to perform miracles. You have to take more risks on track, and that increases your exposure.”

At the Italian Grand Prix, on Ferrari’s home turf and 50 years after Niki Lauda’s 1975 title win at Monza, Jacky can’t help but speak of Ferrari: “It’s hard to make predictions. It’s their home race, and the energy of this circuit and the crowd will certainly contribute to a strong performance from the Scuderia. They’ve started off well. The place matters—a lot. Especially for Ferrari, which is all about passion, and I know a thing or two about that. They’ve got all the ingredients, including the drivers—a podium would be fantastic, especially this season.”

As for the tight title fight at McLaren, he adds: “Between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, it’s far from over. It’s not just about points—it’s about what could still happen: a mechanical failure, an emotional breakdown. These days, predictions are nearly impossible—everything is so different from my time.”

Another  variable is the role of the stewards, and on that point the Belgian champion is crystal clear: “How many of them have ever actually sat in a race car? How many only learned the rules from books? I’d like to see professional stewards—they’d be a guarantee not just for the teams and drivers, but for the quality of the races.”

A versatile driver, Jacky Ickx became a legend not just in F1, but also through six wins at Le Mans, and his victories in the Dakar Rally: “I believe Dakar remains the greatest individual adventure out there. No one ever comes back the same from a race like that. If you have the courage to fully embrace it and look beyond, you return more sensitive and less foolish—aware that life is far greater than the tiny bubble we often live in. It taught me to see the invisible.”

Jacky reflects on life itself: “I’m grateful to heaven for my health, and I wish we’d work more today toward peace. Poverty is unbearable. There are countries without access to drinking water. Those in power start wars and send others to die. Instead of weapons, the money should go to healthcare and education. There are places where young people see no light at the end of the tunnel, where they have no hope.”

An icon of motorsport, yes—but also a man with a deep sense of humanity, who completed a few laps at Monza on the 1970 Ferrari 312 B, which boasted an impressive 450 horsepower.