Jochen Rindt
Karl Jochen Rindt (April 18, 1942 - September 5, 1970) was a racing driver. His biggest success came in 1970, when Rindt won the Formula One World Drivers Championship, despite being killed in practice for the Italian Grand Prix that season.
Biography
Jochen Rindt was born in Mainz, Germany, but during the Second World War, his parents sent him to his grandparents in Graz, Austria, where he grew up and started motor racing.
Despite being very successful in Formula 2 (by winning for instance the 1964 London Trophy), Rindt kept on chosing the wrong F1 cars. Rindt made his Formula One debut for Rob Walker Racing Team in the 1964 Austrian Grand Prix. It was to be his only Grand Prix of the year. From 1965 to 1967, Rindt raced for Cooper Car Company, scoring 32 points in 29 races. In 1968, Rindt raced for Brabham, but Rindt's season wasn't what he had hoped for, due to technical problems. In 1969, Rindt moved to Lotus in 1969. Rindt's biggest success that year came in the Grand Prix of the USA in Watkins Glen, where Rindt clinched the first Grand Prix victory of his career. Rindt scored 22 points that year, giving him a fourth place in the World Drivers Championship. Rindt's 1970 season started with a dramatic last corner win at Monaco. Thereafter armed with the sensational Lotus 72, Rindt won four more Grands Prix (The Netherlands, France, Great Britain and Germany) that year. During practice for the 1970 Italian Grand Prix in Monza, near Milan, Jochen Rindt lost control of his car upon braking and darted left, straight into the barriers. He was immediately rushed to hospital, but passed away on his way to hospital. Because Rindt had won five of that year's ten Grands Prix, his lead in the World Drivers Championship had become unassailable, and Rindt became motor racing's first posthumous World Champion.
Statistics
- 61 Grand Prix starts (First in Austria 1964, last in Austria 1970)
- 6 victories (United States 1969, Monaco 1970, The Netherlands 1970, France 1970, Great Britain 1970 and Germany 1970)
- 13 podium finishes
- 21 point finishes
- 10 pole positions
- 3 fastest laps
- 107 points scored
Rindt per season
- 1964: no points
- 1965: 13th place, 4 points
- 1966: 3rd place, 22 points
- 1967: 13th place, 66 points
- 1968: 12th place, 8 points
- 1969: 4th place, 22 points
- 1970: World Champion, 45 points
