Niki Lauda 1949-2019

Niki Lauda; 1974, 1976 and 1984 Formula 1 World Champion passed away at the age of 70 on Monday evening (20/5/19) where he had been undergoing dialysis treatment for kidney problems, following a period of ill health. Condolences goes out to the family and friends of Niki Lauda.



Lauda started his Formula 1 career in 1971 for the March team at the Austrian Grand Prix, with a full season with the team in 1972. Then in 1973 Lauda moved to the BRM team, with the best result of fifth place at the Belgian Grand Prix.



Then in 1974, Lauda moved to Ferrari, which includes winning two Grand Prixs' with the team. Then in 1975, Lauda won five more Grand Prix wins' to win his first F1 Drivers' title and Ferrari another F1 Constructors' Championship since 1964.



In 1976, Everything changed at the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, when Lauda was pulled from his burning car by his fellow drivers and rushed to hospital with burns and lung injuries. He was given the last rites, but through sheer determination and iron will, he pulled through and from the start his focus was on returning back to the track.



Defying the odds, he was back for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza just six weeks later, overcoming physical and mental challenges to finish an astonishing fourth place, and then a third place at Walkins Glen. In the soaking wet finale at Fuji he pulled into the pits and parked, and made no attempt to disguise the fact that he simply didn't want to carry on in the atrocious conditions. James Hunt duly secured the third place he needed to pip Lauda to the title by a single point.

Then in 1977, Lauda won three more Grand Prixs' to win this second F1 Drivers' title and Ferrari another F1 Constructors' Championship, which resulted Lauda being fired by Ferrari.

In 1978, Lauda moved to Brabham winning two Grand Prixs', which include winning the Swedish Grand Prix with the notorious Brabham BT48B 'fan car', at the end of the 1979 F1 season Lauda retired from Formula 1 to focus on his airline company.



By 1982, Lauda return to Formula 1 with McLaren, instantly winning with them. Then in 1984, Lauda won his third F1 Drivers' title and McLaren their first F1 Constructors' Championship since 1974, beating team-mate Alan Prost by half a point.



Then at the end of 1985, Niki Lauda retired from Formula 1 with three Formula 1 World Drivers' Titles and twenty-five Grand Prix wins. Lauda return to Formula 1 as a pundit for German channel RTL. By 1993 Lauda returned to Ferrari as a consultant role for the next three seasons.



By 2001, Lauda was hired by Jagaur Racing as team principal until the end of 2002.

In September 2012 he was appointed non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team.

Niki Lauda gone but not forgotten.

R.I.P. Niki Lauda