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Jochen Rindt is unforgettable for Formula 1 fans. Teammates remember episodes with the Austrian.
Schwarzach That Jochen Rindt, whose dying day is today
50 years ago people and racing drivers were exceptional, no one doubts it. But what made the German national, originally from Styria (since he was two years old) and pilot with an Austrian license, so special? Some of the then still “young savages” who accompanied the cattle that died in an accident at the age of 28 in Monza, still remember exactly the smallest episodes.
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 shot the sure victory at the last corner, said: “Jochen was the greatest natural talent I have ever seen. it is. “
Fast, energetic and a little arrogant
Bernie Ecclestone had long since ended his own racing career as he became more and more of a manager. And he was generally considered Rindt’s supervisor and partner, co-owner of the Formula 2 team. “Jochen was a very good friend and a super nice guy,” the 89-year-old says today. 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 great relationship without problems.” 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.”
Ron Dennis (73), former head of the McLaren group with a fortune of 480 million euros and decorated with the order of the ‘Commander of the British Empire’, was a mechanic for Rindt at Cooper and Brabham from 1966 to 1968. “First of all, Jochen he was an extremely fast driver, exciting, almost terribly fast. However, he was also a bit arrogant. Not unfriendly, but fun. He knew about his status in the sport. What I remember most is his natural speed ”. And Dennis even says: “When Jochen was personally in top form, he was practically inaccessible. It’s not fair to compare drivers from different eras, but it can definitely be said: Jochen would have been very successful in any era. In Rindt’s Lotus years (1969/70), Englishman Michael “Herbie” Blash (now 71) was Rindts. 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, that connected him to Bernie. But Jochen was always down to earth, not a star in the current sense. For our crew chief Colin Chapman, Rindt was the ideal driver. ” Blash makes no secret of his youthful role in Lotus at the time: “I was Jochen’s ‘cigarette man’. I always had to have cigarettes and a lighter with me. When he got out of the car after a test or training session, he was not a technical manipulator. He explained to Colin (Chapman team principal, note) and Maurice (Philippe technical director) what the car was doing. And then he sat on the box and smoked a cigarette. “
“He made motorsport socially acceptable and popular in Austria,” says former F1 driver and Red Bull motorsports director Helmut Marko (77), “his name still has charisma today, his charisma is unmatched. Rindt was an exception, which I only found out about later. “
Lauda on Rindt: “A madman”
Young Niki Lauda also had notable experiences with Rindt. She once said: “In 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 show Rindt in Vienna-Aspern. I was standing among the journalists behind the fence when he came up to me and spoke to me. We didn’t even know each other until then. But he already knew. That made a great impression on me. ” 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. One of them 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 was yesterday. “
And Emerson Fittipaldi, who on the anniversary of Rindt’s last race in Formula 2, on August 30, 1970 at the Salzburg circuit, visited the racecourse where he had finished fourth, described the man from Graz as “my assistant and teacher. I was an inexperienced newbie. Jochen helped me in Formula 2, he was the ‘king’ of this series. And of course in Formula 1, where I made my debut as the third Lotus driver in the British GP at Brands Hatch. ” On Saturday morning in Monza, Rindt and Fittipaldi had a conversation. “Jochen told me: I will not drive Formula 2 again next year, I want you to drive in our team (editor’s note: it belonged to Rindt with Ecclestone). But hours later that became obsolete. “
It was Fittipaldi who saved Rindt’s world title: “After the Monza accident, nobody knew how things were going to go from here. Lotus decided not to race at Mosport. John Miles, the second pilot, left the team after Jochen’s death. So suddenly I became the leader of the team, with Reine Wisell in the second car. ” At Watkins Glen, his fourth Grand Prix, Fittipaldi was “under enormous pressure. Colin (Chapman) kept saying, ‘You have to stay in front of Ickx, absolutely.’ So I was able to secure the title for Jochen, with whom I achieved it with my first win. Ferrari star Ickx was “only” fourth behind Rodríguez (BRM) and Wisell, and Rindt was champion posthumously.
