Which driver is the only posthumous Formula 1 World Champion?

Jochen Rindt is the only posthumous Formula 1 World Champion.

Rindt won the 1970 World Drivers’ Championship after dying during practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on 5 September. Driving for Team Lotus, he had built a commanding points lead by winning five of the season’s first nine races. His closest rival, Jacky Ickx, could not surpass Rindt’s total in the remaining events.

Rindt was born in Germany but raced under an Austrian licence, which is why he is generally remembered as an Austrian champion. He won six Grands Prix during his Formula 1 career and claimed the 1970 title with Lotus, whose revolutionary Lotus 72 helped make him exceptionally competitive.

A common mix-up is to name Ayrton Senna, Jim Clark or Gilles Villeneuve because all three died during racing careers and became legendary figures. None was awarded a championship after death. Rindt’s title was formally secured after Emerson Fittipaldi won for Lotus at the 1970 United States Grand Prix.