Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - An fara fitar da motar farko mai suna Stewart SF01 a ranar 19 ga Disamba, 1996. Tare da goyon bayan Ford, Stewart GP ya shiga cikin Grand Prix na Australiya na 1997
tare da direbobi Rubens Barrichello da Jan Magnussen. Nasararsu ta farko a shekarar farko ta zo ne a ruwan sama inda Barrichello ya gama na biyu. Magnussen a cikin mota na biyu ya gama a waje da maki a 7th bayan ya rasa fuka-fuki na gaba a chicane. A wasu wurare, motocin sun kasance masu tsere na tsakiya kuma Barrichello ya kasance a cikin matsayi don kalubalanci maki. Stewart ya kasance mai aminci, kamar yadda Ford Zetec-R V10 engine da aka shigar a cikin SF01 chassis ya tabbatar da cewa yana da matukar damuwa. Wannan ya iyakance ƙungiyar zuwa kawai takwas da aka kammala daga cikin yiwuwar talatin da huɗu.