Stewart says only 5 drivers earn more than him

Sir Jackie Stewart claims he earns more than most of the entire F1 grid.

The legend and triple world champion retired as a driver in 1973, but now he continues to play a role through his involvement with bringing big name sponsors to the sport, including Rolex and Heineken.

"I try to give back to formula one what it gave me — success, fame and money," the Scot told Sonntagsblick newspaper.

So when asked by the veteran F1 correspondent Roger Benoit how many current drivers earn more than him each year, Stewart held up four fingers.

"The two drivers of Mercedes and Ferrari," he answered.

When reminded about McLaren-Honda’s Fernando Alonso, however, Stewart added: "Yes, then there are five. But I still only need one hand to count them!"

Stewart said one of the most interesting things about the entire 2016 season was Max Verstappen.

"Other than that, it was not very interesting," he said. "He (Verstappen) reminds me of the first races of Mario Andretti, Jochen Rindt and Francois Cevert. All of them mixed up the business at the time."

So when asked what is missing in today’s F1, Stewart answered: "Excitement, incidents, failures and accidents.

"You must not misunderstand that. No one wants to see anyone killed, but it’s about the excitement. In my day we had it, but unfortunately many of my rivals paid the ultimate price for that."

Finally, with this week marking the three year anniversary of Michael Schumacher’s skiing accident, Stewart said that although he lives close to the F1 legend in Switzerland, he knows nothing.

"I have not heard anything. Unfortunately," he said.