Formula One Mourns Loss Of Legend Sport Says Goodbye To Niki Lauda
                     Formula One Mourns Loss Of Legend Sport Says 
Goodbye To Niki Lauda
The world of motor racing, and car enthusiasts in general, are mourning 
a legend, with the news Formula 1 great Niki Lauda has sadly passed 
away, aged 70.
Born Andreas Nikolaus Lauda in Vienna, Austria on the 22nd of 
February in 1949, he is widely hailed as one of the greatest motor racing 
drivers of all time. A giant of the sport, he won three F1 world 
championships and was the only driver to win for the two leading 
constructors in motor racing; Ferrari and McLaren.
Known for his analytical and tactical approach to the sport, Lauda won 
his first world championship driving for Ferrari in 1975. However, 
arguably his most inspiring moment, also ironically, the most horrific, 
took place the following year. Lauda was involved in a collision at the 
notorious old Nürburgring racetrack in Germany, which, before being 
changed in 1984 to meet higher safety standards, and amended again in 
2002, was known as `The Green Hell` for being so dangerous.
Lauda, while competing at the 1976 German Grand Prix, crashed his 
Ferrari 312T2, which burst into flames. Suffering severe burns, and 
inhaling toxic fumes, he was close to death. Lauda even received the last 
rites and yet incredibly, miraculously, he was racing again only forty 
days later.
In what many consider the greatest comeback in sporting history, six 
weeks after the crash, he was back behind the wheel for the Italian Grand 
Prix. Lauda ended up finishing second that season in a closely fought 
battle with his great rival, the British driver James Hunt.
(The story of their intense rivalry was depicted in the biopic `Rush`, with `Thor `star, Australian 
actor Chris Hemsworth, portraying Hunt and German Spanish actor Daniel Brühl playing Lauda.)
In 1977, a year after the crash, Lauda won his second title for Ferrari, before leaving the team. 
He later raced for McLaren from 1982 to 1985, winning his third world championship in 1984. 
The next year, having previously temporarily retired from the sport in 1979, he announced his 
retirement for good at, appropriately enough, the 1985 Austrian Grand Prix.
Niki Lauda would return to Formula One in a managerial capacity, as a consultant for Ferrari in 
the early nineties. He became team principal for Jaguar in 2001, although the venture was not 
successful, and he lost his job the following year. Ten years later, he was made the non-executive 
chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team and played a role in signing Lewis Hamilton 
for Mercedes. The former motor racing champion often worked as a pundit, commentating on 
Grand Prix races for German TV. He also distinguished himself in the aviation industry, running 
three German airlines, amongst other ventures.
However, it was his accomplishments as a racing car driver for which Niki Lauda will always be 
remembered. A sporting hero in every sense of the word, who literally faced death but through 
bravery, determination and force of will found the strength to not only carry on but be 
victorious. His legacy is a lesson to us all.
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