A really remarkable man, the recovery from the fire to go on and win 2 further world championships. A trained pilot and set up 2 airlines, when one of his lauda air planes crashed he actually drove the investigation forward when a cause couldn't be found. He leaves behind twins who I think will be about 10 years old which is of course very sad, but I'm sure when they get older they will appreciate just how amazing a father they had. RIP Niki
To literally rebuild his life after his horrific crash in the 1976 German Grand Prix , when he received the last rites after suffering third degree burns and inhaling toxic fumes as a result of his car catching fire, was truly inspirational. He was only 70 years old which surprised me. I remember reading a while back that he had undergone his second kidney transplant using a kidney donated by one of his female flight attendants, who became his second wife and the mother to his three young kids. There was a snippet on an F1 programme on Sky in 2018, when I was recovering from my hip operation. They were saying that Lauda was one of those who had been instrumental in bringing Lewis Hamilton into the sport and they were sending best wishes to Niki who at that time, was recovering following a lung transplant. Sadly it's all ended in his untimely death , but it is fitting that the former three times World Champion is still revered in F1 and will in the coming years, be remembered as one of the bravest and most gracious of men ever to grace the sport of Motor Racing. RIP Niki Lauda.
One of my first heroes. Totally single minded and bags of courage. Developed the Ferrari 312T into one of the greatest F1 cars of all time.
