Enjoyable stroll back into a fascinating era

Weekend of a Champion

***

Bermuda Docs

Saturday, April 19, 9pm

Who knew Roman Polanski and Jackie Stewart were mates?

Well, not me, but the warmth between the pair is clearly genuine. 

How else can you describe the ease with which three-time world champion sits in his underpants at the breakfast table in his Monte Carlo suite while giving his friend a thesis on how to negotiate Monaco’s corners?

Directed by Frank Simon, producer Polanski is essentially a fanboy following the legendary Stewart’s quest to win the 1971 Monaco Grand Prix. 

The archive value of the footage is unquestionable but the film’s purposefully-detached approach to showing how the driver went about his business often feels, ironically, a little slow. 

For fans, though, it is a wonderful insight into a past era of F1 — all sideburns, moustaches and very real danger. 

Much of the first half of the film features Stewart, serious and methodical, explaining the art of driving a racing car. Scenes in the garage are a nice reflection at the more mechanical side of the sport but the detailed chat about gear shifts will thrill only aficionados.

The pace of the story quickens, and feels more intense, as we hit race day and there is lovely footage of drivers Graham Hill and Francois Cevert, both now sadly deceased, and a fleeting but joyful clip of Ringo Starr clearly enjoying himself at a pre-race dinner.

When Stewart becomes the competitive animal he is famous for, and less the racing professor that Polanski obviously loves so much, the film is more enthralling.

The race footage is terrific. Hill and Cevert are both forced to retire, and Stewart’s ability shines through in cars that, compared to their modern-day equivalents, look scarily fragile.

Polanski and Stewart then provide a rather sweet closing to the film as they return to the same (underpants) suite to discuss how the sport has changed in the past 40-odd years.

Stewart’s take on safety in F1 — a topic he was at the forefront of for many years — and the friends and colleagues that died is arguably the most interesting aspect of the documentary.

Overall, Weekend of a Champion is an enjoyable stroll back into a fascinating era that felt a little off pace in the early stages.

Motor racing fans, though, will find plenty to enjoy.