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Even today, 50 years after his death in Monza, people argue whether Jochen Rindt was German or Austrian. Born May 18, 1942 in Mainz, buried in Graz on September 11, 1970.
In short: as an orphan with German citizenship, he grew up with his grandparents in Austria. Jochen’s parents, who ran a spice mill in Mainz, were killed in an air raid in Hamburg in 1943.
Jochen’s grandfather wanted him to remain German. “But I always feel more like an Austrian,” Rindt said when asked by reporters.
“Otherwise, you won’t have a long life!”
It is September 5, 1970. A warm summer day in Monza. Shortly after 11 am we sat together on the wall of the well. We blow the smoke into the air. Jochen casually in big glasses with dark glasses. Me as a Grand Prix rookie with ten races and a cigar. Jochen smoked a certain bird of paradise named James Hunt more than later.
Rindt’s best friend, Jackie Stewart, walks by and says, “Jochen, stop this shit. Otherwise, you will not have a long life! “
Parabolic turns into doom
Jochen laughed and tugged on his shiny cane. About four hours later, the Lotus superstar and world championship leader was dead.
He died at 3:45 pm in the infamous Parabolica. In the last training session, one of the controversial internal braking waves broke on entry at 280 km / h.
Rindt had no chance
Rindt, apparently not wearing his seat belt properly, was kicked out of the car after the collision to the left on the front rails. The steering wheel and dashboard shattered his chest, carotid artery and windpipe. “He died instantly,” Stewart said, stopping all rumors. The ambulance ride to the hospital was a sham.
Rindt’s wife, Nina, had to be propped up in the boxes. She had once revealed to a women’s magazine: “Whenever I see a black dress in a store window, I buy it. I knew I would need it for sure! “
Rindt: “I can lose weight too!”
Death was an unspoken theme in the Rindt family, with Natascha as a little girl. On May 9, 1969, Jochen Rindt wrote a letter to his boss Colin Chapman, known for the lightweight construction of his racing cars: “I’m worried. We have to strengthen certain parts. If you really want to save weight, I can lose a few pounds too! “
Chapman, who always presented himself as a British gentleman, did not allow any criticism. “A racing car is better if it dissolves into all its individual parts after victory.”
The Lotus 72, the first wedge-shaped racing car, was Chapman’s stroke of genius 50 years ago. Rindt brought five GP victories to Monza. It seemed unbeatable. But he kept thinking about quitting.
Doubts about the car
Seven portraits of world champions hang on the wall of the tunnel leading to the Red Bull Ring paddock. You can press a button on each of these photos. Then comes the original voice of the star. For a minute.
The immortalized words of Jochen Rindt make you feel cold: “I know that I am a good racing driver. I am very confident in my abilities. I would never say the same about my car. I have my doubts. “
The mostly twisted guy, gifted with wonderful talent, probably anticipated the drama.
Marko: “Fatal risk”
His childhood friend Helmut Marko (77) from Graz: “Jochen realized that he was running a fatal risk at Lotus. Somehow he had had enough, Chapman no longer trusted. He wanted to focus on his Formula 2 team racing with his friend Bernie Ecclestone. Fittipaldi and I should have gone together. “
The death at Monza destroyed all of Jochen Rindt’s plans. And a few weeks later, the Graz native of Mainz was the only driver to date to be posthumously proclaimed world champion.
