Jochen Mass, 1946-2025
German racer Jochen Mass, a winner in Formula 1 and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has died at the age of 78, his family has revealed. Mass (...)
German racer Jochen Mass, a winner in Formula 1 and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has died at the age of 78, his family has revealed. Mass passed away in Cannes, France, from the effects of a stroke suffered earlier this year.
The German native competed in 105 F1 races from 1973-82, driving for a number of elite teams, with his lone victory coming with McLaren in the Spanish Grand Prix in 1975 that was shortened due to a number of accidents. This was the same race in which Lella Lombardi became the first and still the only woman to score a world championship point.
Mass was active in endurance racing during much of his career in F1, but focused on it after opting to leave grand prix racing. The move paid off with his victory at Le Mans in 1989 with the Sauber-Mercedes team.
After retiring from racing, Mass drove the Mercedes-Benz museums stable of historic race cars at charity and vintage events (he’s pictured above at Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2019) and also served as a TV commentator for the German network RTL’s F1 coverage. He also played himself in a cameo in the 2013 F1 feature film “Rush,” directed by Ron Howard.
