His Formula 1 debut happened at Watkins Glen in 1972 with McLaren where he ran as high as third place before whirling and finishing ninth. Instantly learning to be a name to observe, he continued his development the next year, winning the 1973 SCCA L&M Championship and racing five times in F1. In his next start, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Scheckter was involved with a huge injury which took almost a dozen cars from the race. The Grand Prix Drivers Association demanded his immediate banishment, that was just put off when McLaren consented to rest their motorist for four races. Scheckter’s McLaren M23 bore the number zero through the Canadian and American Grands Prix of 1973. Scheckter is one of just two F1 drivers to compete under this particular amount, the other being Damon Hill. Throughout the practice for the American event in the Watkins Glen racetrack, Frenchman Franois Cevert, who was to be Scheckter’s Tyrrell teammate for 1974 was killed in a tragic injury in the rapid uphill Esses corners. Scheckter was behind Cevert when he crashed, and Scheckter halted his McLaren, got from his car and tried to get Cevert out of his wrecked Tyrrell; but the 29-year old Frenchman were cut in half by the racetrack’s badly installed Armco barriers and was already dead. This made an indelible mark on the South African, also it induced him to abandon his dangerous manners, and he become more mature as a consequence of seeing Cevert’s damaging injury.