Race and classic pictures

Prepping for the greatest Grand Prix finish of all time

©CahierArchive

On this day in 1969, Jackie Stewart out-dragged Jochen Rindt to win the Italian Grand Prix at Monza by 8/100ths of a second after a thrilling finish.

Amidst an electric atmosphere, an exciting slipstreaming battle involving up to eight cars formed in the latter part of the race.

The lead changed no less than fourteen times in the 68-lap race as Stewart, Rindt, Hulme, Courage, Hill, McLaren, Beltoise and Siffert dared and defied each other.

With just four laps to go, a final slipstream shootout pitted Stewart's Matra against Rindt, Beltoise and McLaren. In the picture above from Paul-Henri Cahier,   Stewart is seen glancing over and checking out his rival as both men prepare for their showdown.

The great Scot lost the lead to the Austrian's Lotus on the last lap, but regained it only to lose it again to Beltoise as the group barreled down towards the Parabolica.

The French driver's Matra drifted wide on the exit however, leaving Stewart and Rindt to race each other to the checkered flag.

Stewart's win gave him his first world championship title, with three races to go.

Antonio Hype

Recent Posts

Cadillac's Towriss rejects backmarker label: ‘You don’t much about F1'

Cadillac F1’s arrival on the grid in 2026 has been anything but quiet, and according…

1 hour ago

Alpine adds former FIA aero chief to F1 technical structure

Alpine has strengthened its growing 2026 Formula 1 project by officially welcoming former FIA head…

3 hours ago

When a Williams found its way on to the grid of the Indy 500

The 65th running of the Indy 500 held back in 1981 saw an interesting and…

4 hours ago

Ralf Schumacher: Life in F1 as Michael’s brother often 'unpleasant'

Ralf Schumacher has opened up about the emotional strain he experienced during his F1 career,…

5 hours ago

Bottas reveals how Miami GP car theft triggered FBI investigation

For most Formula 1 drivers, the biggest threat during a Grand Prix weekend comes on…

6 hours ago

Zak Brown takes aim at ‘A/B teams’ in F1 in formal letter to FIA

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has intensified the debate over Formula 1’s ownership structure after…

8 hours ago