Sir Jackie Stewart Once Overcame Grief of Losing a Friend and F1 Rival to Set Personal Monza Lap Record

F1 journalist Will Buxton recently discussed how F1 drivers possess an innate ability to ‘flick a switch’ and transform into fierce competitors the moment they put on their helmets, regardless of the circumstances they may be facing outside the track. Buxton used Sir Jackie Stewart’s example to highlight the same.

In the 1970 F1 season, Sir Stewart lost his friend and on-track rival Jochen Rindt during a practice session in Italy, which left him devastated.

Stewart went to the medical room and returned in tears after learning what happened to Rindt. However, once he put his helmet back on, he achieved a personal best lap time around the Monza circuit.

“Who drivers are outside the car is very different to who they are inside the car,” Buxton said on The Fast and Curious podcast. “Jackie went to the medical center and saw his friend dead, came back to the pit lane was crying his eyes out.”

“He was qualifying, pulled his helmet on got in the car set the fastest lap he ever had at Monza got out of the car, and started crying again,” the F1TV presenter added.

Rindt was driving his Lotus 72 around Monza on that fateful afternoon in 1970 when he approached the high-speed Parabolica corner. The front-right brake shaft of his car failed, causing him to lose control as he slid off the track and crashed into the barriers at high speed.

Unfortunately, he suffered fatal injuries to his aorta and thorax from the seat harness buckle and died while being transported to the hospital.

Rindt became the only posthumous World Champion in F1 history

Although Stewart achieved a personal best lap time around Monza that day, he qualified only P4 for the race and finished in P2. Rindt, who lost his life with four races still to go in the season, ultimately became the World Champion.

Driving for Lotus, Rindt had an exceptional season, winning five races: Monaco, The Netherlands, France, Britain, and Germany. By the time of his fatal crash at Monza, he had accumulated 45 points and was in a very strong position, with none of the other drivers coming close to matching his total.

Jacky Ickx, who was Rindt’s closest challenger, managed to win only two of the remaining four races and could not score enough points to surpass Rindt. This ultimately made Rindt the only driver to be posthumously crowned F1 champion.