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No one doubts that Jochen Rindt, whose 50th anniversary of death is Saturday, was an exception as a person and a racing driver.
But why did the German citizen, originally from Styria (since he was two years old) and an Austrian licensed pilot, make such an impression?
Some of the then still “young (or younger) savages” who accompanied the cattle that died in an accident at the age of 28 in Monza, still clearly remember the numerous episodes.
Bernie Ecclestone, who later became the sole ruler of Formula 1 from the late 1970s to 2017, had long since ended his own racing career as he increasingly became a manager. And he was generally considered a supervisor and partner of Rindt, he was a co-owner of the Formula 2 team.
“Jochen was a very good friend and a super nice guy,” says the 89-year-old. And when asked about his assessment of Rindt’s talent, he surprises with a daring hypothesis: “Jochen could have won as many world championships as Michael Schumacher.”
In their joint work, according to Ecclestone, the two had “a seamless super relationship.” And what Jochen continues to have an impact on posterity is how he describes it: “He was what racing drivers should be: in top shape, unattainable.”
The greatest talent of all time?
Ron Dennis (73), former president of the McLaren group with a fortune of 480 million euros and awarded the order of “Commander of the British Empire”, was a mechanic for Rindt at Cooper and Brabham from 1966 to 1968. “First of all, Jochen was an extremely fast driver, exciting, almost terribly fast. However, he was also a bit arrogant. Not unfriendly, more fun. He knew about his status in the sport. What he remembered most was definitely his natural speed. “
And Dennis even says: “When Jochen was personally in top form, he was practically unattainable. It’s not fair to compare drivers from different eras, but it can be said with certainty: Jochen would have been a great success in all eras.”
His opponents had a lot of respect for Rindt. Three-time world champion Jack Brabham (1926-2014), whom Rindt had put under so much pressure during his career to catch up at Monaco in 1970 that the Australian threw the supposedly safe victory at the last corner overboard, said : “Jochen was the greatest natural talent I’ve ever had. He’s been accommodated.”
Jochens “Cigarette Man”
In Rindt’s Lotus years (1969/70), Englishman Michael “Herbie” Blash (now 71) was Rindt’s mechanic at Lotus. “What impressed me the most: Jochen was able to be fast in every car and on every route,” says the veteran FIA observer and F1 safety chief.
And what else surprised him about Jochen: “He was a player by nature, he was also strong at poker, which connected him to Bernie. But Jochen was always down to earth, not a star in the current sense. To our boss Of team, Colin Chapman, Rindt was the ideal driver. “
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Blash makes no secret of his youthful role at Lotus at the time: “I was Jochens’s smoker. He always had to carry cigarettes and a lighter with him. When he got out of the car after a test or training, he wasn’t a technical retoucher. He explained. Colin (Chapman team manager, Note) and Maurice (Philippe technical director) what the car did. And then he sat on the box and smoked a cigarette. “
Lauda’s impressive memories
Young Niki Lauda also had notable experiences with Rindt. He once said: “1968, I was 19 years old, I drove my first hill climb in a Mini, I was an unknown beginner. In autumn, Jochen gave a presentation for his next Rindt show in Vienna-Aspern. He was standing behind the fence. among journalists when he approached me and spoke to me. We didn’t even know each other until then. But he already knew. That impressed me a lot. “
When Rindt won the British GP at Brands Hatch in 1970, Lauda drove the Formula 3 race there. “I saw F1 practice in a corner. There someone crossed in the rain with incredible speed. I just thought: ‘Who is the madman?’. It was Rindt. I see the scene in front of me as if it were her yesterday.” .
Text as: © LAOLA1.at
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