Ferrari icon confesses he can’t pass a driving test after losing licence. F1 legend Jody Scheckter says he can no longer drive in Italy due to his expired licence and a language barrier.

F1 Champion Jody Scheckter Reveals He Can No Longer Drive in Italy Due to Licence Issue

1979 Formula 1 World Champion and Ferrari icon Jody Scheckter has revealed that he is currently unable to drive in Italy after his driver’s licence expired, leaving him caught in a bureaucratic bind due to language requirements.

The former Ferrari driver, now 75 years old, relocated from the United Kingdom to Italy last year. Under Italian law, renewing a foreign licence requires passing a local driving test, which includes both theoretical and practical components—in Italian. However, Scheckter admitted that his limited grasp of the language is a major obstacle.

In a recent interview with the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, the South African driver acknowledged that he struggles significantly with Italian and therefore does not feel confident about passing the exam required for renewal. As a result, he has enlisted the support of legal counsel and contacted Ferrari—the team with which he won his world championship—in an attempt to find a solution to the impasse.

Jody Scheckter, who narrowly beat his Ferrari teammate Gilles Villeneuve to clinch the 1979 title by just four points, remains the only Formula 1 World Champion from the African continent. His driving career saw him earn 10 Grand Prix victories, but now, despite decades of motorsport experience, he finds himself unable to legally drive on Italian roads.

He explained that after moving to Italy, he had initially been allowed to use his existing licence for one year. Once it expired, however, he found himself sidelined due to the testing regulations. Jody Scheckter reportedly expressed that while he chose Italy as his new home and is committed to living there, the language barrier is proving a significant challenge in everyday life, especially when it comes to navigating the legal requirements around driving.

Jody Scheckter joined Ferrari in 1979 and made 28 starts for the Scuderia before retiring at the end of the 1980 season, which failed to match the highs of his title-winning campaign. Ferrari then entered a lengthy championship drought, not securing another drivers’ crown until Michael Schumacher delivered the title in 2000—more than two decades later.

Before his time with Ferrari, Jody Scheckter made his Formula 1 debut with McLaren in 1972. He later drove for Tyrrell from 1974 to 1976, winning four races during his stint there. In 1977, he joined the then-new Wolf team and famously won their debut race at the Argentine Grand Prix—a rare feat in F1 history.

Now retired from racing, Jody Scheckter’s unexpected licence troubles underscore the bureaucratic challenges that even world champions can face when relocating to a new country.