F1's 70 greatest influencers: the 1970s
Our tribute to Formula 1's pioneering greats reaches the 1970s. More tragedies on track gave fresh impetus to calls for better safety, writes RICHARD WILLIAMS, but this wasn't all that changed during "the decade that taste forgot"
For Formula 1, the 1970s started with the posthumous crowning of a world champion. The fatal accident of Jochen Rindt at Monza not only robbed motorsport of a gifted driver but cost Jackie Stewart one of his closest friends, fuelling the Scot's long campaign to make the sport less lethal for its participants.
The last world champion of the 1960s, Stewart went into the new decade as F1's leading figure: not just as the quickest in the field, destined to win further titles in 1971 and 1973, but as a pioneer in both paddock style and on-track safety.
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