Jochen Rindt

Rindt was widely acknowledged as the fastest man in Formula 1 by the time he reached his peak in 1970, when he tragically lost his life at Monza in Italy, four races before the end of the season. Such was his pre-eminence that year that no rival could overhaul his points total and he became the sport’s only posthumous World Champion. As his close friend Jackie Stewart observed in this book’s foreword, ‘David Tremayne is a wonderful writer who has done Jochen great justice in the words that he has chosen to depict a remarkable man and a remarkable career.’

Rindt shot to prominence when he beat the established aces at the big Formula 2 race at Crystal Palace in 1964.

In the 1965 Le Mans 24 Hours he took a NART-entered Ferrari 250LM to a surprise victory with Masten Gregory.

Rindt went into Formula 1 with Cooper in 1965 and stayed for three seasons, but the once-great team was now on the wane and good results were sparse.

Jack Brabham recognised Rindt’s sublime talent and brought him into his high-flying team, which had just won back-to-back world titles – but the Austrian’s season was plagued by unreliability.

To Lotus for 1969, and finally his maiden Grand Prix victory was achieved, at Watkins Glen.

A brilliant 1970 season in Colin Chapman’s radical new Lotus 72 included four consecutive wins, enough to build a big lead in the points standings.

On 5 September 1970 Rindt crashed fatally in practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza – the following month he was confirmed as Formula 1’s only posthumous World Champion.