Karl Jochen Rindt (; 18 April 1942 – 5 September 1970) was a racing driver who competed under the Austrian flag in Formula One from to . Rindt won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Lotus, and remains the only driver to have won the World Drivers' Championship posthumously, following his death at the ; he won six Grands Prix across seven seasons. In endurance racing, Rindt won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1965 with NART.
Born in Germany and raised in Austria, Rindt started motor racing in 1961. Switching to single-seaters in 1963, he was successful in both Formula Junior and Formula Two. In , Rindt made his debut in Formula One at the Austrian Grand Prix, before securing a full drive with Cooper for . After mixed results with the team, he moved to Brabham for and then Lotus in . 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, and a poorly installed crash barrier gave way. Rindt 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, Rindt 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.
Early life and family Jochen Rindt was born on 18 April 1942 in Mainz, Germany, to an Austrian mother and German father. His mother had been a successful tennis player in her youth and, like her father, studied law. Rindt's parents owned a spice mill in Mainz, which he later inherited. They were killed in a bombing raid in Hamburg during the Second World War when he was 15 months old, after which he was raised by his maternal grandparents in Graz, Austria. Although his grandfather chose to retain Rindt's German citizenship, for his entire career he drove under an Austrian racing licence. In an interview, he described his heritage as a "terrible mixture" and, when asked if he felt more Austrian or German, said that he felt "like a European". Rindt had one half-brother, Uwe, through his mother.
Rindt's childhood friends and his brother described him as a "laddish child" who often performed tricks to amuse others. While on a skiing holiday, he broke his femoral neck, leading to several surgeries that left one leg shorter than the other. As a result of this, Rindt limped slightly for the rest of his life. At the age of sixteen, he received a moped and started racing his friends on motocross tracks. His time in school was troubled and he was excluded from schools several times. He said:
Rindt's chances of obtaining a licence were put into further jeopardy because he had collected eight recorded misdemeanours with the police during his youth. In 1960, he received his first car, an old Volkswagen Beetle. His interest in motorsport greatly increased when he visited the 1961 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring with school friends, including fellow future Formula One driver Helmut Marko.
Racing career Beginnings Rindt drove his first race at the Flugplatzrennen in 1961, in his grandmother's Simca Montlhéry. After missing the official application period, he only entered after a friendly high-ranking motorsport functionary from Graz intervened on his behalf. During the race, he was black flagged for his dangerous driving style and therefore disqualified; he did not immediately return to the pit lane as he was unaware of the regulations. Rindt entered several rallies with his Simca but did not achieve good results. It was only when he was provided with a race-prepared at cost price and with free servicing by a local dealer that he became more successful. In the Alfa Romeo, he achieved eight victories.
In 1963, Rindt switched to Formula Junior with the assistance of Kurt Bardi Barry, a wealthy owner of a travel agency and one of Austria's leading drivers at the time; Barry gave him his one-year-old Cooper T67 and the two men formed a partnership, driving to races together. Rindt was fastest in practice for his first race in Vallelunga, a race won by Barry, and took victory in his second at Cesenatico. In the race, Rindt had taken advantage of an accident in the early stages. While most drivers slowed for the incoming ambulance, he raced ahead between the straw barriers and the parked medical vehicle to take the lead. At the time, he was notorious for his dangerous style, almost crashing into the spectators at a race in the streets of Budapest.
Formula Two
Rindt was highly successful in Formula Two racing, amassing a total of 29 victories. He once again entered the series in partnership with Barry, driving Brabham cars. The engines provided by Cosworth were slower and inconsistent in performance; Rindt responded to his reduced pace by declaring: "Then I just brake two metres later." He entered his first F2 race in April 1964 at the Preis von Wien at Aspern, retiring from both heats. The international motor racing world first took notice of him on 18 May 1964, when Rindt won the London Trophy race at the Crystal Palace circuit in a Brabham BT10 ahead of Graham Hill.
Like many other drivers at the time, Rindt continued to race in Formula Two races alongside his duties in Formula One; his last F2 appearance was the Festspielpreis der Salzburg in August 1970. In 1967, he dominated Formula Two, winning nine races in his Brabham BT23. As an experienced Formula One driver, he was graded "A", meaning his results did not count towards the championship, and the title went to Jacky Ickx. Still, his performances led him to be called "king of Formula 2" by the racing press. He had a long-standing relationship with Roy Winkelmann, and drove with his team until it closed at the end of 1969.
Sports cars
Along with single-seater racing, Rindt took up sports car racing in the mid-1960s. Rindt started at the 24 Hours of Le Mans a total of four times. At his debut in , sharing a Ferrari 250LM with David Piper, the car retired too early for Rindt even to take the wheel.
Rindt's best result came the following year at the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans. Sharing the drive of a Ferrari 250LM with American Masten Gregory for the North American Racing Team, Rindt won the event. Neither driver was happy to race in a seemingly uncompetitive car. A 1998 article in Motor Sport stated that neither appeared to show much interest in the race, but instead it was "more a case of 'hope it breaks soon' so they could draw their money and split". At the start, the drivers had to run to their cars; Rindt entered with a forward roll that allowed him to get his foot on the throttle instantly and take an early lead. The pair experienced considerable trouble in the early part of the race; the car did not restart during Gregory's first pit stop. Later, the engine failed partially and Gregory brought the car into the pits on only six of twelve cylinders. At this point, Rindt had already changed back into his civilian clothes, expecting their race to be over. After thirty minutes of repairs, the car restarted and Rindt and Gregory agreed to drive the rest of the event "flat out", at full speed and with the accompanying risk. Rindt drove most of the night, advancing from 18th to third position by dawn. Gregory persuaded Rindt to let him drive the closing part of the race, suspecting that his young teammate might not drive moderately enough to nurse the car to the finish. Jacky Ickx later recalled that the two had driven "like maniacs". Even so, the car survived, handing the pair what Ickx called an "unexpected victory".
Later that year, Rindt drove, again in a Ferrari 250LM, at the 500 kilometre race at Zeltweg. He was able to win ahead of the better powered Ferrari of Mike Parkes owing to a special lever that manually activated the brake lights. Using the tool shortly before his actual braking point, Rindt was able to force Parkes to brake earlier than him which allowed him to stay ahead.
Apart from his 1965 victory, Rindt never finished the race in Le Mans. In 1966, his Ford GT40 (shared with Innes Ireland) suffered an engine failure. A year later, he drove a Porsche 907 with Gerhard Mitter until their camshaft failed.
Formula One Cooper (1964–1967) Rindt made his Formula One debut at his home race, the 1964 Austrian Grand Prix, in a loaned Brabham BT11 supplied by the Rob Walker Racing Team. He retired on the 58th lap with a broken steering column in his only Grand Prix of the season.
For the 1965 Formula One season, Rindt signed as a permanent driver with Cooper, paired with Bruce McLaren. He was not immediately successful as Cooper, formerly a top team, were struggling at the time. In his first race, the 1965 South African Grand Prix, he developed transistor trouble; the damage was initially repaired but the problem recurred and Rindt had to retire from the race. His best result was a fourth place at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. He ended the season with four points, 13th in the championship.
For , Cooper introduced the T81 chassis and used nine-year old Maserati V12 engines, which were powerful but heavy. A new engine formula was introduced for the season, with the capacity doubled to three litres. Many teams struggled with the new rules, leaving Cooper competitive even with their old Maserati V12s. After McLaren left, Rindt became team leader until world champion John Surtees joined from Ferrari. At the second race of the year, the , Rindt overcame an engine failure in practice to qualify second, next to Surtees on the front row of the grid. In a race affected by heavy rain, he overtook Surtees for the lead on lap four. He spun several times on the wet track and suffered from a limited-slip differential, but held onto the lead until lap 21, when Surtees repassed him and won. It was Rindt's first ever podium finish in Formula One, after what Motor Sport magazine called a "very courageous" drive. Overall, he achieved three podium positions, handing him third place in the championship at the end of the year.
was less successful, as Rindt only finished two races, the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix, both in fourth place. Six points meant that he ended the season in 13th place in the championship.
Brabham (1968)