Karl Jochen Rindt Austrian racing driver Date of Birth: 18.04.1942 Country: Austria

1. Biography of Jochen Rindt
2. Early Life and Career
3. Success with Lotus
4. Tragic Accident and Posthumous Championship

Biography of Jochen Rindt

Jochen Rindt was an Austrian racing driver and the Formula-1 World Champion. He achieved the championship title posthumously, as he tragically crashed during the Italian Grand Prix. However, the points he had earned in previous races were enough to secure the championship title.

Early Life and Career

Jochen Rindt was born in Mainz, Germany, but after his parents died in a bombing raid in Hamburg during World War II, he moved to Graz, Austria to live with his grandparents. It was there that he grew up and began his career in motorsports. Despite his success in Formula 2, including a victory at the 1964 London Trophy, Rindt set his sights on Formula 1 cars.

Rindt made his Formula 1 debut with Rob Walker Racing Team in 1964 at the Austrian Grand Prix. This was his only Grand Prix participation that year. From 1965 to 1967, Rindt raced for Cooper, earning 32 points in 29 races. In 1968, he joined Brabham but faced technical issues that hindered his performance. Rindt also competed in the Indianapolis 500 in 1967 and 1968 but finished no higher than 24th place.

Rindt was known for his exceptional speed, excellent car control, and reflexes. However, he rarely had a car that matched his talent until he joined Lotus in 1969 and reached the pinnacle of his career.

Success with Lotus

Rindt secured his first victory as a Formula 1 driver at the United States Grand Prix in Watkins Glen. He finished the year with 22 points, earning him fourth place in the World Drivers' Championship. Rindt had a successful partnership with Lotus team principal Colin Chapman, who preferred technical stability compared to Chapman's constant pursuit of innovations and inventions.

In 1970, Rindt had a dramatic victory in Monaco, with the race ending in the last corner. Armed with the Lotus 72, possibly the greatest Formula 1 car of all time, Rindt won four more Grand Prix races in the Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, and Germany.

Tragic Accident and Posthumous Championship

During practice for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Chapman and Rindt decided to follow the example set by Jackie Stewart and Denny Hulme and remove the wings from their cars in an attempt to reduce air resistance and achieve higher speeds. However, Rindt's teammate, John Miles, was dissatisfied with the wingless setup during Friday practice, stating that the car "didn't want to go straight". Rindt did not experience such issues, and Chapman considered Rindt's comment that the car would be "almost 800 rpm faster on the straight" without wings.

On the next day, Rindt drove with taller gear ratios to take advantage of the reduced drag, increasing the maximum speed to 205 mph (330 km/h). On the fifth lap of the final practice session, Hulme, who was following Rindt, reported that Rindt's car started to slide slightly during braking before Parabolica and then sharply turned left into the barrier. The barrier's attachment failed, and the car dove under the barrier, crashing into the upright. The front of the car was destroyed. Despite being rushed to the hospital, Rindt was pronounced dead. He had reluctantly agreed to use a simple lap belt without shoulder support, and upon impact, he slid down where the buckle of the belt sliced his throat. Rindt became the second Lotus team leader to perish within two years, following Jim Clark's fatal crash in 1968 at Hockenheim.

An Italian court later determined that the accident was caused by a malfunction in the front right brake shaft of the car, but Rindt's death was due to the poorly installed barrier. Rindt was buried at the Central Cemetery (Zentralfriedhof) in Graz. At the time of his death, Rindt had won five out of ten Grand Prix races and was leading the Drivers' Championship. Only Jackie Ickx had a theoretical chance of catching him in the last three races of the season. However, Rindt's Lotus teammate Emerson Fittipaldi won the penultimate Grand Prix in Watkins Glen, depriving Ickx of the title, and Rindt became the first posthumous World Champion in the history of motorsport. The trophy was presented to his Finnish widow, Nina Rindt (born Lincoln), the daughter of renowned Finnish driver Kurt Lincoln. Ironically, Rindt had promised Nina that he would retire from racing once he became a champion.