Niki Lauda
{{Former F1 driver|
Name = Niki Lauda |
Image = Niki Lauda.jpg |
Nationality = Austrian |
Years = 1971 - 1979, 1982 - 1985 |
Team(s) =
March,
BRM,
Ferrari,
Brabham,
McLaren |
Races = 172 |
Championships = 3 (
1975,
1977,
1984) |
Wins = 25 |
Podiums = 54 |
Poles = 24 |
Fastest laps = 24 |
First race =
1971 Austrian Grand Prix | First win =
1974 Spanish Grand Prix | Last win =
1985 Dutch Grand Prix | Last race =
1985 Australian Grand Prix |
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (born
February 22,
1949 in
Vienna,
Austria) is an
entrepreneur, former
Formula One (F1) racing driver and three-time
F1 World Champion.
Early Years in Racing
Born into a wealthy family, Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. After starting out with a
Mini, Lauda moved on, as was normal in Central Europe, into
Formula Vee, but rapidly moved up to drive in private
Porsche and
Chevron sports cars. His career seemed to be going nowhere in particular until he took out a large bank loan secured by a life insurance policy, which enabled him to buy his way into the the fledgling
March team as a
Formula 2 (F2) driver in 1971 (although he was quickly promoted to the F1 team), and drove in both F1 and F2 for them in 1972. Although the F2 cars were good (and Lauda's test-driving skills impressed March principal Robin Herd), March's 1972 F1 season was catastrophic and Lauda, in despair, briefly contemplated drastic action but finally took out yet another bank loan to buy his way into the
BRM team in 1973. Lauda was instantly quick but the team was in decline; his big break came when his BRM team-mate
Clay Regazzoni rejoined
Ferrari in 1974 and team owner
Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke favourably of Lauda, so Ferrari promptly went and signed him, paying Niki enough to clear his debts.
Ferrari years 1974-1977
After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under
Luca Montezemolo and were resurgent in
1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his début race for the team, the season-opening
Argentine Grand Prix. His first
Grand Prix (GP) victory – and the first for Ferrari since 1972 – followed only three races later in
Spain. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive
pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the
Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car.
The
1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda, but after nothing better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races he then won four out of the next five races in the new
Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a fifth win at the last race of the year, the
United States GP.
Unlike 1975, Lauda dominated the start of the
1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the
British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challenger
Jody Scheckter and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It would be a feat not achieved since
Jack Brabham's victories in
1959 and
1960.
In the next race, however, the
German GP at the long
Nürburgring circuit, disaster struck. On the second lap of the race, Lauda's car swerved off the track, hit an embankment and rolled back into the path of
Brett Lunger's
Surtees-
Ford car. Lauda's car burst into flames, but, unlike Lunger, he was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers
Arturo Merzario and
Guy Edwards arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before they and Lunger were able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma and a priest administered the
last rites.
Incredibly, however, Lauda not only survived but returned to race only six weeks (two races) later, finishing a sensational fourth in the
Italian GP. During Lauda's absence,
McLaren driver
James Hunt had reduced Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Following wins in the
Canadian and
United States GPs, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the
Japanese GP.
Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and
Lauda retired after 2 laps, stating that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions. Hunt led much of the race before a late puncture dropped him down the order. He recovered to 3rd, thus winning the title by a single point.
Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the race, and he endured a difficult
1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left early due to the team's decision to run the then unknown
Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the
Canadian Grand Prix.
Having joined
Brabham in 1978, Lauda endured two unsuccessful seasons, notable mainly for his one race in the
Brabham BT46B, a radical design known as the Fan Car. The vehicle won its only race and was then promptly banned. At the
1979 Canadian Grand Prix, Lauda informed Brabham owner
Bernie Ecclestone that he wished to retire immediately, as he had no more desire to "drive around in circles". Lauda, who had founded a charter airline, returned to Austria to run the company full-time.
Needing money to shore up his new business, in 1982 Lauda returned to racing, feeling that he still had a career in Formula One. After a successful test with
McLaren, the only problem was in convincing then team sponsor
Marlboro that he was still capable of winning. Lauda proved he was still quite capable when, in his third race back, he won the
Long Beach Grand Prix. Lauda would win a third world championship in
1984 by one-half point over teammate
Alain Prost.
He returned to running his airline,
Lauda Air, on his retirement in 1985. Ousted by boardroom politics after a sale to majority partner
Austrian Airlines in 1999, he managed the
Jaguar Formula One racing team 2001-2002. In late 2003, he started a new airline,
Niki.
He was inducted into the
International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993.
As a driver, Lauda was renowned for his clear-headed approach to driving, minimising risk whilst maximising results, and ruthless self-interest. Lauda is considered one of the most accomplished test drivers in the sport, often working long hours refining his car's performance.
Niki Lauda is the author of four books;
The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving (1975),
My Years With Ferrari (1977),
The New Formula One: A Turbo Age (1984), and
Meine Story (1986). Lauda credits Austrian journalist
Herbert Volker with editing the books.
Lauda is sometimes known by the rather uncomplimentary
nickname "the rat" or "SuperRat", for his prominent
buck teeth.
(
key) (Races in
bold indicate pole position)
