For those with a passing interest in F1 fact and figures Jochen Rindt is known most because he is the only posthumous F1 world Champion. However, to those interested in more than the records he is remembered as a daredevil driver who always seemed to drive at the point just beyond the capability of the car. He was fabulous to watch, but many feared for his safety, and tragically they were proved correct when at the pinnacle of his career in 1970 Rindt crashed and died at the Monza GP.

Nationality & DoB - DoD	Austrian , 18-04-1942 -  05-09-1970
Team	Brabham, Cooper, Lotus.
Active years	1964-1970
Championships	1 (1970)
Races	62 (60 starts)
Wins	6
Podiums	13
Pole Positions	10
Fastest Laps	3
First Race	1964 Austrian Grand Prix
First Win	1969 United States Grand Prix
Last Win	1970 German Grand Prix
Last Race	1970 Italian Grand Prix

Karl Jochen Rindt was born into a wealthy German family and following an allied bombing raid on Hamburg during the WW II was orphaned. Raised by his grandparents in Graz, Austria, Rindt was a rebellious youngster and often got into trouble with those in authority, he developed a keen competitive streak in any activity that was dangerous.

He started motor racing early on motocross bikes and he either won or crashed in the process of trying. His confidence was to the point of arrogance and with his scruffy appearance and abrupt speaking manner he was intimidating to some. However, his ambition to be the best protected him from any criticisms.

Rindt's early racing career was much punctuated by crashes and he was hospitalised on several occasions. He began racing F2 cars in 1964 and was immediately fast, but the crashes continued. The fans quickly noticed the young Austrian and his trademark driving style often described as driving 'sideways throughout the race'.

Rindt also had one race in F1 in the 1964 season driving for the Rob Walker Racing Team in the Austrian GP. For the 1965 - 1967 F1 seasons, Jochen raced for the Cooper team, but the team's glory days were passed, and Rindt struggled to make an impression on the championship. He moved to Brabham in 1968 but once again the car was unreliable and his results did not reflect his skills.

Jochen finally got a car to match his ability when he moved to Lotus in 1969. His teammate was the world champion, Graham Hill and Rindt was soon out-pacing Hill. His relationship with team owner and founder, Colin Chapman was not always easy. Chapman was constantly changing the car and Rindt preferred to have a more stable environment. The Lotus 49 of the 1969 season was fast but fragile, Rindt criticised Chapman's design following a crash at the Spanish GP; he was leading the race when his car's rear wing broke, his car crashed into the wreckage of Hill's Lotus, which had earlier crashed for the same reason. Rindt broke his jaw and suffered a concussion.

However, at Lotus the car was fast and he could finally win races. His first victory came at the '69 USA GP, and at season end, Jochen Rindt was fourth in the championship standings.

Arguably, the greatest F1 car of all time was developed by Lotus in the 1970 season, the Lotus 72. However, Rindt won the 1970 Monaco GP driving the Lotus 49 in a race that is considered by many his best. He was in fifth place for much of the race but following retirement was promoted to second place, 15 seconds behind race leader Jack Brabham. Jochen drove at the limit of the car to set repeated new fastest lap times, and as he approached Brabham in the final lap, he caused with his extreme cornering such a distraction to Brabham that on the last corner of the last lap he [Brabham] crashed into the barriers.
The 1970 season  was still a time of very high risks in F1 and following the deaths of two of Rindt's driver friends,- Bruce McLaren and Piers Courage, he discussed retiring for the sake of his wife and baby daughter.

Driving the Lotus 72, he then won the Dutch, French, British and German Grands Prix to lead the championship standings at the Italian GP.

The Monza track advantages those cars with a higher top speed over cars, which due to running with greater down force, could corner more quickly. During practice the Tyrrell of Jackie Stewart, and the McLaren of Denny Hulme, ran without wings. Their resulting improved times minded Lotus also to run a wingless set up. John Miles, Rindt teammate, was unhappy with the new configuration and reported that the car 'wouldn't run straight'. Rindt by contrast was pleased that the car was 'almost 800 rpm faster on the straight' without wings.

On the following day, 5th September 1970, Rindt ran with higher gear ratios fitted to his car to take advantage of the reduced drag, increasing the cars' potential top speed to 205 mph (330 km/h). On Rindt's fifth lap of the final practice session, Hulme, who was following, reported that under braking for the Parabolica corner: 'Jochen's car weaved slightly and then swerved sharp left into the crash barrier'. A joint in the crash barrier parted, the suspension dug in under the barrier and the car hit a stanchion head on. The front end of the car was destroyed. Although Rindt was rushed to hospital, he was pronounced dead. Rindt had only recently acquiesced to wearing a simple lap belt, and had slid underneath where the belt buckle cut his throat. Bernie Ecclestone was at the time Rindt's business manager and he was one of the first on the scene. Ecclestone was mortified by the young Austrian's death and quit F1 for a couple of years as a result.

(Jochen Rindt was the second Lotus team leader to be killed in two years; Jim Clark had been killed in 1968 in a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim).

Jacky Ickx (Ferrari) mathematically could have gained more points than Rindt and become Champion, however, Lotus team mate, Emerson Fittipaldi, won the penultimate Grand Prix of the season, depriving Ickx of the points he needed to win the title, and so Rindt became motor racing's first and only posthumous World Champion.

Jochen Rindt was a wonderful driver to watch and his style is best described in an answer he gave to the question; how frequently he drove beyond his limits, he replied: 'Did I ever drive within them'?