Formula One Mourns Loss Of Legend Sport Says Goodbye To Niki Lauda

1
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.
2
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.
3
(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.
The Original article Published at cheapcarkeysscot
land
https//cheapcarkeysscotland.co.uk/formula-one-mou
rns-loss-legend-sport-says-goodbye-niki-lauda/