Remembering Jochen Rindt, 50 years on from his death at Monza

You couldn't fail to notice Jochen Rindt.

Apart from his distinctive looks, unruly hair and cool style of dress, every action image seemed to an exuberant exhibition of opposite lock. This was in days before downforce crushed the visual excitement invoked by throttle control working in harmony with an anticipated loss of rear grip.

Power sliding and Rindt were made for each other. It didn't matter whether it was a cumbersome Cooper-Maserati F1 car or a nimble F2 Brabham. The result was always the same; extrovert skill proving both irresistible and heart stopping.

The downside, of course, was unspoken concern. Bruce McLaren and Piers Courage had been killed earlier in 1970; the shock of Jim…