Jody Scheckter has vowed to fight on after losing a court battle over a £1.5 million tax bill.

The 1979 Formula 1 world champion closed his organic farm business in Hampshire two years ago but faces a demand for £1,457,634 from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

A court ordered Scheckter to pay the bill last week. However he told The Telegraph he believes he did not break the law and will appeal against the decision. The 76-year-old added illness prevented him from attending much of the two-week tribunal hearing and he struggled to hear some of the questions.

He told the paper: “My wife said ‘You should have paid it long ago’ She’s right. Except, you know… I blame my mother, she always told me: ‘You’ve got to fight for what’s right’. And I absolutely believed I was doing the right thing.”

Browse all Formula 1 articles