Jochen Rindt

Though primarily known as the only posthumous World Champion, Jochen Rindt had left behind a memorable career with daredevil driving and raw racing being his passions. He ventured into racing with an insatiable appetite for the sport and very few have been able to match his allure, then or since.

Orphaned as an infant, Rindt lost his wealthy parents during a bombing raid in Germany. He was then taken to Graz in Austria by his maternal grandmother. Even as a youth Rindt displayed his head strong defiance of authority and love for speed and danger. Competition entered his life soon, starting with schoolboy ski races and then onto motorized sports, when he bought a moped, which was soon replaced by a motocross bike. His reckless streak was evident when in races he would either win or crash. Even on public roads, Rindt did not refrain from fast and careless driving, often getting into trouble with the police. He was expelled from several private schools and his grandparents were at a loss on how to deal with him.

Rindt always had an intimidating air around him and his physical features and characteristics just accentuated this fact. He had resolved to attain the highest acclaim in motorsport right from his teens and worshiped Count Wolfgang von Trips, an aristocratic German driver, who died in an accident in Monza in 1961. This did not dampen Rindt's spirit who began racing touring cars, soon shifting to single seaters and crashing an astonishing number of times during this period. He was hospitalized several times, but each time he came back more determined to win.

He personally financed his forays in racing, by buying himself more serious formula cars. In 1964, he bought a Formula Two Brabham for 4,000 pounds in cash. Very soon he began to get noticed, and his win against Graham Hill in his second F2 race was particularly played up by the media who described him as an 'unknown Austrian' whose car was sideways throughout the race. This allowed it to go around corners at unbelievable angles, and it also looked like it was about to go off the road any moment.

Rindt soon began the man to beat in the intense F2 series, and in 1965 he was signed for a three year Formula One contract with Cooper. Cooper cars were not competitive but Rindt partnered with Masten Gergory, an American, drove a Ferrari 250LM and won the 1965 Le Mans 24 Hour race. He further drove two more seasons in severely outclassed Coopers and then another season in a Brabham, and was known for driving his machines to their limits and maybe beyond. When asked how many times he drove beyond his limits he would reply, "Did I ever drive within them?".

The Austrian was quite famous with the media and was known to give photographers the best action photos in Formula One history. In 1967, he married Nina Lincoln, a Finnish fashion model and quite unlike his rugged personality. In 1969 Rindt was signed by Colin Chapman, founder of Team Lotus, and he partnered reigning World Champion Graham Hill. The newcomer soon left his illustrious team mate behind, but suffered a major setback in his Lotus 49, a car as fragile as it was fast. While leading the Spanish Grand Prix in Montjuich Park, his car's high rear wing collapsed and caused it to pitch into the wreck Hill's Lotus, which had crashed a while ago for the same reason. Though Hill was unhurt, Rindt suffered a concussion and sustained a broken jaw. He soon became one of the most outspoken critics of Chapman's cars, believing them to be both unsafe and unreliable. These views changed however when attained his first championship victory in the 1969 United States Grand Prix.

In 1970 his first win of the season was in Monaco, in a Lotus 49 and left many spectators and drivers speechless. Rindt remained in fifth place for most of the initial part of the race, but on sensing a retirement of others, Rindt managed to reach runner up only 15 seconds behind Jack Brabham, who was in one of his own cars. Sensing a possibility of a win, Rindt then proceeded to race leader position by engaging into a thrilling and sometimes frightening charge, which even distracted Brabham himself, who crashed into the barriers in the last lap. Rindt won the race and was presented the winner's trophy by Prince Rainier and Princess Grace.

The next few weeks put an end to the celebrations with the death of two close friends of Rindt, Piers Courage and Bruce McLaren. The shock of the loss even made him consider retirement for the sake of his family, having welcomed a new arrival, baby daughter Natasha only recently. But that was only momentary and Rindt kept up his fast and reckless driving, winning four consecutive events, including the Dutch Grand Prix, the French, the British as well as German events.

On September 5th, 1970, Rindt's luck ran out as he crashed into the guardrail during practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. First on the scene was his good friend and business manager Bernie Ecclestone, who came away with only two souvenirs from the wreck, a battered helmet and a single shoe, which had been thrown off the wreck.

The fatal accident occurred close to where Count Wolfgang von Trips, Rindt's childhood hero had been killed in 1961. Even though the German, who was leading the championship, just like Rindt lost it to Phil Hill, his Ferrari team mate, Rindt remained unbeaten even after his death and earned the championship title he truly deserved.