It was the year of the wedge. If you look at photos of the Formula 1 1970 season, the first thing you notice is the shape of the cars. They stopped looking like cigars and started looking like doorstops. Radical. Dangerous. It was a time when Colin Chapman’s Lotus 72 changed everything we knew about aerodynamics, but it was also the year that broke the heart of the sport.
People talk about "the good old days" of racing, but 1970 was brutal. Honestly, it's the only time a driver has ever won the World Championship posthumously. Think about that for a second. Jochen Rindt, a man with incredible car control and a fearless attitude, secured the title while he wasn't even there to collect the trophy. It’s a heavy legacy.
The car that changed the game: Lotus 72
The Lotus 72 is basically the blueprint for every modern F1 car you see today. Before this thing showed up, radiators were usually in the nose. Chapman and his designer Maurice Philippe moved them to the sidepods. This allowed the front of the car to be thin, sharp, and incredibly effective at cutting through the air.
It wasn't just about the looks, though. They used torsion bar suspension and inboard brakes to reduce unsprung weight. In theory, it was a masterpiece. In practice? It was a nightmare to develop. At the start of the Formula 1 1970 season, the car had "anti-dive" and "anti-squat" geometry that made it feel completely numb to the drivers. Rindt hated it at first. He actually went back to the old Lotus 49 for a few races because he couldn't trust the 72.
Eventually, they stripped the complex geometry out, and the car became a rocket ship. Rindt went on a tear, winning four races in a row during the summer. Brands Hatch, Clermont-Ferrand, Hockenheim, and Zandvoort—he was untouchable. But the Lotus was fragile. That was the trade-off back then. Speed for safety.
👉 See also: Why the Marlins Won World Series Titles Twice and Then Disappeared
A grim tally at Monza
The Italian Grand Prix at Monza is usually a celebration of speed, but in 1970, it was a wake. During practice, Jochen Rindt’s Lotus 72 suffered a right-front brake shaft failure. The car veered into the guardrail. Because Rindt didn't like using the crotch straps on his five-point harness—he was afraid of being trapped in a fire—he slid forward on impact.
He died. Just like that. The championship leader was gone.
What followed was a weird, somber period for the rest of the Formula 1 1970 season. Ferrari’s Jacky Ickx was the only one who could mathematically catch Rindt in the points standings. Ickx is a legend, a gentleman, and he’s gone on record saying he didn't really want to win the title that way. When his car failed him at the penultimate round in the US, the title was Jochen’s.
The grid was packed with legends
If you look at the entry lists from that year, it's staggering. You had Jackie Stewart, the man who was actively trying to make the sport less of a suicide mission. He was driving the Tyrrell-March 701 while his own Tyrrell 001 was being finished.
✨ Don't miss: Why Funny Fantasy Football Names Actually Win Leagues
Then there was Jack Brabham. "Black Jack" was in his final season, still winning races at 44 years old. He won the opener in South Africa. He almost won Monaco too, until he famously locked up at the very last corner under pressure from Rindt. It’s one of those clips you see on every "Top 10 F1 Moments" video.
And don't forget the newcomers. 1970 was the year Emerson Fittipaldi arrived. He was thrown into the deep end at Lotus after Rindt’s death and somehow won at Watkins Glen. That win actually sealed the title for his fallen teammate. It’s the kind of script a Hollywood writer would reject for being too dramatic.
The circuits were terrifying
We aren't talking about the sanitized, runoff-heavy tracks of today. The Formula 1 1970 season visited places that were basically death traps.
- The Nürburgring: Drivers actually boycotted it this year. They moved the German GP to Hockenheim because the "Green Hell" was too dangerous without major safety upgrades.
- Spa-Francorchamps: The old 14km layout. Fast. Narrow. Terrifying. This was the last time the original high-speed Spa was used for a Grand Prix.
- Clermont-Ferrand: Volcanic hills and rocks everywhere. Imagine driving a car with zero driver aids through a rock quarry at 150mph.
Mechanical diversity was at its peak
Nowadays, every car looks sorta similar because the regulations are so tight. In 1970? Not even close. You had the Matra MS120 with its screaming V12 engine that sounded like a choir of angels being tortured. Then you had the ubiquitous Ford-Cosworth DFV V8, which was the backbone of the grid.
🔗 Read more: Heisman Trophy Nominees 2024: The Year the System Almost Broke
Ferrari was finding its feet again with the 312B and their flat-12 engine. It was low, it was powerful, and it pushed Ickx and Clay Regazzoni to the front of the pack by the end of the season. The technical battle between the lightweight British "garagistes" and the Italian powerhouse was starting to boil over.
Why 1970 still matters to fans today
If you want to understand why F1 is the way it is now, you have to look at this year. It was the pivot point. The sport was moving away from the "amateur" era of guys racing in polo shirts toward a professional, aerodynamically driven, commercialized monster. Gold Leaf sponsorship on the Lotus cars showed everyone that big tobacco money was the future.
But more than that, it's the year that forced the world to look at safety. Losing a champion mid-season was a wake-up call that couldn't be ignored.
What to look for if you're researching this era:
- Watch "1" (2013): This documentary covers the safety revolution and features some incredible 1970 footage.
- Check the Lotus 72 blueprints: Look up how the suspension worked. It’s genius for its time.
- The 1970 Monaco GP highlights: Watch the last lap. It's the definition of "it's not over until it's over."
The Formula 1 1970 season wasn't just a series of races. It was a tragedy, a technical revolution, and a changing of the guard all at once. It gave us our only posthumous champion and the most iconic car design of the decade.
If you want to dive deeper into this specific era, start by tracking the points progression of Jacky Ickx in the final three races. It shows the incredible pressure of trying to win a title against a ghost. You can also look into the debut of March Engineering—they went from non-existent to leading laps in a matter of months, a feat that would be impossible in the modern era of the sport.
Actionable Insights for F1 Historians:
- Study the Lotus 72's evolution: Compare the 72A (used early in 1970) to the 72E. The removal of the anti-dive geometry is the key to why Rindt suddenly started winning.
- Analyze the 1970 Safety Boycott: Research the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) records from 1970 to see how Jackie Stewart leveraged driver unity to force track changes.
- Review the Ford-Cosworth DFV dominance: Look at the win-loss ratio of the DFV engine in 1970 compared to the V12 alternatives. It highlights why the "customer engine" era was so successful for independent teams.