Greater Noida: Sir Jackie Stewart, three-time F1 champion, spoke to The Telegraph at the Jaypee Resort on Sunday morning. Now 72, Sir Jackie continues to be a natty dresser.

The following are excerpts

His top five drivers...

RUDOLF CARACCIOLA: He raced back in the 1920s and in the 1930s... He was an engineer-driver, with good mind management and won a lot of races for Mercedes... The German carried himself so well.

JUAN MANUEL FANGIO: He came to Europe (from Argentina) when he was all of 39, but still won five World Championships. He knew how to conduct himself in the car and out of it, which is important.

STIRLING MOSS: Never won a World Championship, but was such a good driver. He never had the best car of the time, but remained consistent.

JIM CLARK: He was superb... A very clean driver, who was so good on the track and as good off it. I liked him both as a person and as a racing driver.

ALAIN PROST: He drove within his limits more regularly than anybody else in his time... (Ayrton) Senna was a contemporary, but I think Prost was a more advanced driver than Senna... The latter did, of course, bring a lot of passion to his driving and put in more physically... Prost was the more cerebral type of a driver, good at managing his mind... He knew the limits of his car and seldom went off the track and crashed.

The next big one...

Sebastian Vettel... He’ll probably end up as one of the all-time greats. He’s only 24.

No.1 reason for Vettel being in a league of his own...

Vettel’s the most mature 24-year-old I’ve seen in F1. His maturity is what separates him from the rest.

Statistically, Michael Schumacher being the most successful in F1 (seven Championship titles)...

I agree, but Michael didn’t have to contend with half-a-dozen or so other drivers who could win the Championship, as is today, or when I was driving... The present bunch at the top is a skilled lot... Also, he’d joined Ferrari (from Benetton) on the condition that the team would recruit all the technical staff he wanted. Ferrari agreed, for they had the money, and Michael brought them back to winning ways. Ferrari won’t forget him... He got the people to put together a great car and that gave him the chance to win more often. Michael’s just below the five I’ve picked as my favourites.

On what makes the difference — the car or the driver?

Both... One needs the other... It’s a combination. Fangio, for example, drove only the best cars... He signed one-year contracts and changed teams. If somebody else had a better car the following year, he’d switch and take some of the technical staff with him. Had Moss done what Fangio used to do, he could have won some Championship titles. Moss would say ‘I like the man and I’ll drive for him’... But how can you do that? You actually need to like the car.

The final one... Thoughts on the Buddh International Circuit...

(Enthusiastically) Excellent... The finest new circuit that I’ve seen. I would’ve loved to race here.

Footnote: Sir Jackie is a Sachin Tendulkar fan and caught up with him at an event in New Delhi on Saturday evening. “He’s a role model, as a cricketer and as a human being,” is how Sir Jackie saluted Sachin.