Jochen Rindt

Jochen Rindt

Rindt at the 1970 Dutch Grand Prix
Born	Karl Jochen Rindt (1942-04-18)18 April 1942 Mainz, Volksstaat Hessen, German Reich
Died	5 September 1970(1970-09-05) (aged 28) Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Lombardy, Italy
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Austrian
Active years	1964–1970
Teams	Rob Walker (Privateer Brabham), Cooper, Brabham, Lotus
Entries	62 (60 starts)
Championships	1 (1970)
Wins	6
Podiums	13
Career points	107 (109)2
Pole positions	10
Fastest laps	3
First entry	1964 Austrian Grand Prix
First win	1969 United States Grand Prix
Last win	1970 German Grand Prix
Last entry	1970 Italian Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career Years 1964–1967 Teams NART Comstock Racing Porsche Best finish 1st (1965) Class wins 1 (1965)

Karl Jochen Rindt (German: [ˈjɔxn̩ ˈʁɪnt]; 18 April 1942 – 5 September 1970) was a German-born racing driver who competed with an Austrian licence during his career, despite having German and not Austrian citizenship.^[1] In 1970, he was killed during practice for the Italian Grand Prix and became the only driver to be posthumously awarded the Formula One World Drivers' Championship.

Rindt started motor racing in 1961. Switching to single-seaters in 1963, he was successful in both Formula Junior and Formula Two. In 1964, Rindt made his debut in Formula One at the Austrian Grand Prix, before securing a full drive with Cooper for 1965. After mixed results with the team, he moved to Brabham for 1968 and then Lotus in 1969. It was at Lotus that Rindt found a competitive car, although he was often concerned about the safety of the notoriously unreliable Lotus vehicles. He won his first Formula One race at the 1969 United States Grand Prix. He had a very successful 1970 season, mainly racing the revolutionary Lotus 72, and won five of the first nine races. In practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, he spun into the guardrails after a failure on his car's brake shaft. Rindt was killed owing to severe throat injuries caused by his seat belt; he was pronounced dead while on the way to hospital. As his closest competitor Jacky Ickx was unable to score sufficient points in the remaining races of the season, Rindt was awarded the World Championship posthumously. Rindt left behind his wife, Nina, and a daughter, Natasha.

Overall, he competed in 62 Grands Prix, winning six and achieving 13 podium finishes. He was also successful in sports car racing, winning the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans paired with Masten Gregory in a Ferrari 250LM. Rindt was a popular figure in Austria and his success resulted in increased interest in motorsport and Formula One in particular. He hosted a monthly television show titled Motorama and set up a successful exhibition of racing cars in Vienna. During his time in Formula One, he was involved alongside Jackie Stewart in a campaign to improve safety in Formula One.