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I'm having a hard time writing this post to do him justice, but seeing as I am the only one from the Formula One world I guess it's fitting for me to write up a post.
Living a life that was filled with many ups and downs, full of drama and extremes, and void of bullshit, Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (February, 22, 1949 - May, 20, 2019) was a three-time Formula One World Champion (winning in 1975 and 1977 with Scuderia Ferrari, and 1984 with McLaren), was the owner of three separate airlines, was a Consultant/Advisor at Scuderia Ferrari, Team Principal at Jaguar F1 team, and most recently, the Non-Executive Chairman for Mercedes-AMG F1 from 2012 to his passing.
Life treated him very harshly when he was young. Born to a wealthy family where they owned a big business in Austria, he was encouraged to take the baton and take over from his father. He was a man who struggled during his time at school, as he dealt with a lot of academic difficulties. There was a point when he did poorly on an exam and his friends encouraged him to take one of theirs and change the name at the top to fool his parents. What was important though, was that he was hooked on to racing and wanted to do nothing but that. Lauda fought with his grandfather and his own father over what he would turn out to be in the future. They never wanted him to be a racing driver, but he still persisted. As a result, his family wouldn't really fund his racing career. Lauda was on his own.
Much to his family's disapproval, he took out a massive loan to secure a Formula 2 drive for March in 1971, where soon after Lauda got the Formula One drive with March. In 1973 he raced for BRM but they were on the decline. He got his big break with Scuderia Ferrari in 1974 racing the Ferrari 312B3-74, where at the end of the season he finished a solid 4th in the championship standings and scoring his first win with Ferrari in Spain. Enzo Ferrari paid him enough of a salary so it could cover all of the previous loans Lauda took out before. Still, Lauda was hawk-eyed looking for sponsorships, because in Formula One, while talent is key, it's the money that talks at the end.
Things began to change in 1975 where he dominated the season and ended up winning the championship by 19.5 points (which was A LOT in that time) with Ferrari with the 312B3-74 (in the first 2 races) and the legendary 312T. He showed Ferrari and the world what he's made of. Steel. With a lot of determination and no bullshit (even to his team, where he famously insults Ferrari and their car being sh*t, as famously shown in the 2013 movie "Rush") he was able to make strides and dominate with Ferrari.
The year after he was dominating even more than he was doing so in 1975, having a famous rivalry with Briton James Hunt. Before the 1976 German Grand Prix he was first in the standings with an astonishing 23 point lead ahead of Hunt. Then disaster struck at the Nürburgring.
Also known as the "Green Hell", a term coined by Briton Sir Jackie Stewart (another three-time Formula One World Champion), the Nürburgring track even at ideal conditions is terrifying to race in. Imagine if there was precipitation. And that's exactly what happened.
Niki saw the forecast and knew that the upcoming are no conditions for racing in the Green Hell. He protested to stop the race but the race went on. A few laps into the race he lost control of his Ferrari 312T2 and smashed the barriers before the Bergwerk right hander and his car immediately bursted to flames. His face was exposed to the raging inferno as he wore a modified helmet after it slid off from the crash. Engulfed in the massive inferno, he was saved by fellow drivers and fire marshals who quickly went to his rescue. Any longer and he wouldn't have been living for another 43 years on this Earth. After everything was cleaned up, the race was restarted (a few other drivers withdrew after the accident) and James Hunt won that race after.
He faced severe burns and scars to his head, lost the majority of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows and his eyelids. He inhaled extremely hot toxic gases that damaged his blood and lungs (which he had the same ones until his lung transplant in August of 2018). He resided at the hospital for six weeks and reconstructed his eyelids and his face with using his skin from his leg. Also known as the greatest comeback ever, he came back for the Italian Grand Prix six weeks later in Monza and qualified fifth. An amazing performance for a man who endured so much in such a short time. This was a testament to Lauda's grit and his prowess behind the wheel. Trying to recoup from what he missed, at the end of the 1976 season his rival James Hunt eked out to win the title by just ONE point.
Their rivalry continued in 1977, having the winter break to be refreshed, he had a new beginning. He showed consistent performances and won his second title in the 1977 United States Grand Prix with two races to go. Immediately after the race, he announced he will be ditching Ferrari and will race for Brabham in 1978 due to relations souring between Ferrari and Lauda.
Lauda fought with Team Principal (soon after Formula One boss) Bernie Ecclestone over salary and sponsorships, but things went Lauda's way. He raced for Brabham in 1978 and 1979. While his campaign with Brabham was largely unsuccessful relative to his Ferrari career, he still picked up a few wins. After 1979 he retired for the first time from Formula One.
He made a return to Formula One in 1982 with McLaren. Some people doubted if he had the chops to still win, but Lauda proved them wrong at the third race of the year at Long Beach. He picked up a few wins that season and finished fifth in the championship. 1983 was largely unsuccessful with full of retirements but picking up a few podium and points finishes.
1984 was the year he would win his last championship with McLaren. After an amazing battle with Alain Prost (who became a four time Formula One World Champion), he beat Prost by just half a point. Picking up five wins that season he dominated for the majority of the season. 1985 turned out to be his last season in Formula One, suffering a lot of retirements throughout the season but picking up his last final win at the Dutch Grand Prix. Famously being on the top spot of the podium with teammate Alain Prost in second and Lotus’ Ayrton Senna in third place.
After his career in Formula One he still participated in other motorsports disciplines and did well in them. He had his own airlines which were successful, and was somebody that cannot be messed with. Him, being the man he is, pressured Boeing into telling the truth by disclosing problems with their planes and forcing the blame on them after the crash of Lauda Air Flight 004 in 1991 due to faulty thrust reversers. He was devoted to being the best man he can be in the airline industry. An incident like the Lauda Air crash in 1991 devastated him. In fact, he personally involved himself to assist with the investigation and get to the bottom of everything.
He still did not detach from Formula One after he retired from the series. Lauda worked as a consultant for Ferrari in 1993 and midway through 2001 he assumed being the Team Principal for Jaguar F1 team.
In recent days, particularly from 2012, Lauda became a Non-Executive Chairman for the legendary Mercedes-AMG F1 team and owning a 10% stake in the team. He, along with Team Principal Toto Wolff and other key engineers helped spearhead the constant Mercedes dominance we know today in the Turbo-Hybrid V6 era of Formula One. With incredible work ethic and his policy of no bullshit, he got things done and he did them right. He was also responsible for finding a replacement for the legend, god and GOAT of Formula One Michael Schumacher after he was going to leave in 2012. He was responsible for finding and persuading Lewis Hamilton to come and join the Mercedes team, which at the time sounded like a big risk. But now he has won FOUR titles with them. And that was all because of Niki Lauda being able to convince Lewis to join. As of now, Mercedes-AMG F1 has won four titles with Lewis Hamilton and one title with Nico Rosberg. In 2019, they're currently fighting for their sixth, and this season they're running away in the championship. I hope this sixth title is for Niki. <3 I am proud to be a fan of this amazing team.
Throughout his life he experienced health problems, he had kidneys that would stop working, so one time he got a kidney from one of his ex-wives, and the other time he got a kidney from his son. He was still living until mid-2018 with his lung that he suffered with from the crash in 1976, which was amazing, then he needed a lung transplant. Away from the Formula One world, he was expected to recover, but a flu managed to take him back to the hospital just several months ago. He was projected to come back and be beside Toto Wolff in the races but just today he went to back to the hospital for a kidney dialysis as he was having kidney problems. He succumbed to his condition earlier today as he passed peacefully in his sleep.
For a man who endured so much, and has done so much in his life, created a legendary legacy for himself and showed the world what he was capable of in and out of Formula One. From the fact that he was essentially immortal, was always upright and up for the next challenge, to the fact that he dealt with zero bullshit, was as straightforward and direct a man could be. He was a special individual who left a huge mark on this world. His passing is extremely shocking and broke me. 70 is extremely young for someone to go, especially for a man like him. I and the entire world will genuinely miss him, but his legacy will forever be remembered.
Danke Niki. Ruhe in Frieden. <3
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raise: Your post definitely did him justice and then some.