However it was another terrible year for driver deaths and injuries. Just a fortnight before the race, former Le Mans winner Bruce McLaren had been killed testing his new car. Piers Courage, driving the Alfa Romeo in this race, died during the F1 Dutch GP. To underline the safety problem, Jochen Rindt, 1965 Le Mans winner, was killed at Monza becoming the first posthumous F1 World Champion.