Driver Focus - Jochen Rindt
There was a time when Jochen Rindt was undeniably the fastest driver in Formula One. However, he will be remembered by most as the sport’s first posthumous World Champion.
Before his death, Rindt built a reputation as one of the most exciting and raw drivers to ever get behind the wheel of a Formula One car - but there was another side to him.
From watching his driving style, it was easy to get the impression that he was reckless - but Rindt was intelligent and a shrewd businessman. He was an advocate of safety in Formula One and stood by Jackie Stewart when track owners and the press turned against him. His bravery was clear to see in and out of the car and was never afraid to speak his mind.
Karl Jochen Rindt was born on 18 April 1942, in Mainz, Germany. He was orphaned as a child when his parents were killed in a bombing raid and was adopted by his maternal grandparents who raised him in Austria.
Far from growing up timid following the terrible death of his parents, a young Rindt embraced life and relished any opportunity to indulge in anything that coupled speed with danger.
Growing up in Austria meant there was plenty of opportunities to compete in skiing races but his passion to win meant that he would twice break limbs in accidents.
This ‘win or crash trying’ attitude continued when he decided to swap his skis for something with an engine. Like many drivers of that era, Rindt starting his racing career on two wheels, first on a moped and later competing in motorcross.
Although not an Austrian citizen, he drove with an Austrian licence and pushed the limits of his scrap cars beyond what was safe for public roads. However, it was the danger and rebellion that he loved and encounters with the police did little to deter this attitude. It was this demeanour that caused Rindt to be expelled from several private schools and his future seemed uncertain.
As a young German daredevil, Wolfgang von Trips became his hero. Ironically, the crash that would eventually kill Rindt was very similar to that that killed von Trips, however the crash that ended the life of his hero would also claim the lives of fifteen spectators.
The death of von Trips did little to deter Rindt and he soon began racing in touring cars before moving to single-seaters. His will to win led to frequent accidents that often led to hospitalisation, but rather than compromising his speed to improve reliability, Rindt continued to push to win - an attitude that would later become key to his relationship with Lotus boss Colin Chapman but would be stretched to its breaking point before his death.
His parents had been very comfortable with their finances and Rindt could afford to take risks behind the wheel. In 1964, he travelled to England to buy a Brabham Formula Two car - in cash.
He began racing in F2 in Britain and, in only his second race, managed to beat the great Graham Hill. Accounts from the race noted: “His car was sideways throughout the race. It went around the corners at unbelievable angles and always looked as if it was about to go off the road.”
Despite successes in F2, Rindt’s Formula One career was marred by consistently being in the wrong car - for much of the seven years he raced, it seemed as though he would either have bad luck or no luck at all.
In 1965, Rindt signed a three-year contract with Cooper. The cars were not competitive, nor were they reliable but the German was able to showcase his driving talent by winning the 24 Heures du Mans behind the wheel of a Ferrari.
Although the 1966 season was relatively strong, 1967 was a disaster with Rindt only managing to finish two races. Once his contractual obligations were complete, Bernie Ecclestone convinced the German to join his Brabham team. However, Eccelestone’s loyalties were torn between his commercial business dealings, his relentless need for cleanliness and perfection, his desire to make money and his war to take over the sport. The cars were unreliable and did not suit Rindt’s aggressive driving style.
However, the desire to win had not gone unnoticed by Colin Chapman. For the 1969 season, Rindt joined Lotus to partner World Champion Graham Hill. Once again he managed to beat the Briton but the Lotus car was far too brittle and it was reliability that would put a halt to Rindt’s assault on Formula One.
It would soon become apparent that Rindt was not about to be led in the wrong direction again. Lotus had pioneered the idea of using wings to create downforce but the new systems were untested and Chapman often insisted on spontaneously adding bigger aerofoils, suspended high above the chassis on thin struts.
At the Spanish Grand Prix, Rindt was leading the race until his rear wing collapsed. Before the race, Chapman had insisted that the mechanics made the wing wider and added six inches to each side. The result was that the car produced so much downforce, the brittle polystyrene and aluminium wing bent in the middle and the struts snapped. Hill had already crashed for the same reason and Rindt’s car was pitched into Hill’s wreckage.
The front of Rindt’s Lotus was bent underneath the nose and he suffered a concussion and a broken jaw. In a letter to Chapman after the race, the German vented his frustration with the design of the car.
He said: “I have been racing in F1 for five years and I have made one mistake (I rammed Clement Ferrand) and I had accident in Zandvoort due to gear-selection failure, otherwise I managed to stay out of trouble. This situation changed rapidly since I joined your team.
“Honestly, your cars are so quick that we would still be competitive with a few extra pounds used to make the weakest parts stronger.
“I can only drive a car in which I have some confidence and I feel the point of no confidence is quite near”.
Chapman refused to listen and Rindt decided to voice his concern with an open letter to the press. He accused the sport of becoming a hot-rod show and said that wings were dangerous to both the drivers and spectators - they should be banned.
His wife, Nina explained: “It was indirectly to Colin. He just wanted to show that he could tell the world what was going on. I don’t think Colin cared.”
Rindt’s criticisms of the car were cut short after he took his first victory in America. However the race will be remembered for the horrific accident that caused his Lotus teammate, Hill, to break both of his legs.
Death in Formula One was still commonplace and the following weeks saw both Bruce McLaren and Piers Courage lose their lives behind the wheel. After McLaren’s death, the Grand Prix Drivers Association decided to boycott racing at the Nürburgring after race organisers refused to meet any of the safety demands. The race was moved to Hockenheim and would become Rindt’s last victory.
As the Italian Gran Prix approached, Rindt was on the verge of winning the World Championship but was not happy with the Lotus 72 that had replaced the 49. He felt that he was close enough to the title that there was no need to continue using the radical chassis and asked for the 49 to be shipped to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix.
When he arrived at the track, the 49 was not there. Chapman simply gave him the choice to drive the 72 or to drive nothing. Against his better judgement, Rindt got behind the wheel of the ill-fated car.
Soon after, one of his brake shafts failed and the Lotus veered off the track at 185mph. The accident occurred at the same part of the track as the crash that caused von Trips’ death.
The barrier that had been placed in front of the grass verge had not been properly secured and Rindt’s car went underneath, hitting a support post. The front of the car was destroyed and Rindt had not fastened his crotch straps as he wanted to be able to get out of the car quickly if it caught fire - he slid down into the cockpit and his throat was cut by the shoulder straps.
Chapman was charged with manslaughter in Italy and could not return until the 1972 season.
As the season drew to a close, the German was still at the top of the Championship standings. However, it was his wife Nina that was left to collect the trophy.
