8 reasons F1 fans will never forget Austrian legend Niki Lauda

Formula 1 is back in the Styrian hills for another Austrian Grand Prix this weekend, a country with a fierce racing history. Successful constructors, iconic races, and plenty of memorable drivers have come from the European country, but there's one man who is always in our thoughts when we return to the Red Bull Ring.

Niki Lauda won three World Championships during his illustrious F1 career, but he was far more than just the titles, wins and podiums. His story has captivated generations of fans, whether it was his incredible resilience in the face of adversity or his famous one-liners and trademark dry humour. There's no better time than Austrian race week to dive into the reasons why Lauda is so unforgettable...

His humble beginnings in F1

Despite his father working in business and banking, Lauda’s path into F1 was entirely his own, using bank loans which he secured against his own life insurance policy. His wealthy father wanted nothing to do with a son who wanted to race cars, so Lauda was forced to borrow money in order to work his way up through the junior ranks.

He was generally unable to showcase his ability in uncompetitive machinery, but because he was lacking qualifications in any other line of work, he kept going. The Austrian secured a rent-a-ride stunt at BRM in 1973 and was finally able to make his mark on the more competitive teams. Ferrari came calling in 1974, with Enzo Ferrari impressed at Lauda’s work ethic and self-belief – even if he could be brutally honest.

Whilst he called the Ferrari 312 “a piece of s***” after his first test, he promised he would make it race-worthy – and the rest is history.

His comeback(s)

"Someone who would never give up" is how Toto Wolff summarised Lauda during a heart-warming tribute after his passing in 2019. After overcoming a tricky path into the sport, Lauda reached the top of F1 in 1975, winning the title with Ferrari before starting the 1976 season with five wins from nine races. However, then came the infamous German Grand Prix around the Nordschleife, where Lauda had a life-threatening crash in treacherous conditions.

He suffered terrible burns after his car set alight, before falling into a coma and even being given the last rites. Not only did the Ferrari driver live, but he was back racing just six weeks later despite driving in immense pain. He fell short of the title by just a point but bounced back again to take championship number two a year later.

Some difficult years followed at Brabham, with Lauda retiring in 1979, but McLaren coaxed him back into racing in 1982. Did Lauda still have what it took? He certainly did, overcoming his talented team mate of Alain Prost to win his third title in 1984. Lauda never knew when he was beaten, and he carried that mentality into every aspect of his life.

His rivalry with James Hunt

It has been 50 years since Lauda's title battle with James Hunt, and yet, we are still talking about the 1976 season as one of the most dramatic. Hunt's early struggles, Lauda's crash in Germany, the showdown in Japan... all moments that made a season so captivating, it deserved a movie. And in 2013, that's exactly what we got, as Ron Howard produced Rush.

The story of competing rivals, each with different approaches to racing and to life, who gained great respect and admiration for each other is a must watch movie.

When he retired from driving, he didn’t retire from the paddock

Lauda stepped away from F1 for a few years, but it wasn’t long before he was back in the paddock. In 1993, the Austrian took on an advisory role at Ferrari before stepping up to the Team Principal role for a floundering Jaguar F1 team in late 2001. In somewhat typical Lauda style, he was a hands-on manager and even got behind the wheel of the Jaguar R2 to better understand the struggles of drivers Eddie Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa. However, it was a famously rocky relationship he had with the team which ultimately ended with him being sacked in November 2002.

Lauda was put off from management roles in F1 after that experience, turning to TV commentary for a while, but in 2012 he joined Mercedes as a Non-Executive Chairman, where he wasted little time in making a pretty significant contribution – persuading Lewis Hamilton to leave McLaren for the fledgling outfit. Lauda gave credibility to the Mercedes project, and it was with his help and motivation that the team became the dominant force in the sport.

His expertise at the track was crucial, but his ability to relate to the drivers and guide them through F1 was his real talent. Speaking on the Mercedes website, George Russell spoke of Lauda's warmth, saying: "My first race with the team was Baku in 2017. I had only been part of the team a couple of months, but Niki came straight up to me and welcomed me with open arms.

"He invited me to a concert that evening, and we just danced the night away and had such a great time. There were so many laughs along the way. He was such a kind person, so down to earth."

What he meant to Austria

Few knew Lauda better than fellow Austrian and Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff. All you need to do to understand how important Lauda was to the country is listen to Wolff's 2019 tribute to his former colleague and friend: "In Austria, you are aware of Niki the moment you are born – he was the most iconic Austrian. He had so many assets to his character that made him this incredible, bigger-than-life personality."

The Red Bull Ring added to Lauda's legacy when they renamed Turn 1 'the Niki Lauda Kurve' in 2019, while the Austrian is also buried in Vienna, with many fans paying their respects whenever they visit his hometown.

Ever since his passing, Mercedes have made sure there is a little reminder of him on every car they build. Speaking on their website, Wolff said: "The small, red, three-pointed star is going to stay on the car forever,” a touching tribute.

His quick wit and famous one-liners

To many, Lauda came across as blunt, serious and harsh, but to those who knew him, his humour was one of their lasting memories of him. Hamilton opened up about his relationship with Lauda while filming a video with Mercedes a few years ago: "We had some of the best and funniest conversations, he was one of the funniest people I ever met.

"We used to fly together from races, and he had the funniest stories – Toto and I would just be on the floor laughing with the stuff he would come out with."

When playing the great man in the movie 'Rush', Daniel Bruhl got a first-hand experience of his trademark quick wit. Bruhl had organised a call with Lauda so they could meet and discuss how the actor could best play the Austrian, but he was quickly exposed to Lauda's amusing character.

As Bruhl recalled in a 2013 interview with The Guardian, Lauda said: "Yeah, it's Niki. I guess we have to meet. Come to Vienna. Just bring hand luggage so if we don't like each other, you can piss off."

Quite the introduction, but the pair went on to develop a great friendship, especially after Lauda watched Bruhl's perfect portrayal. Lauda was moved by the actor's work depicting his heavy 1976 crash, while Bruhl thoroughly enjoyed Lauda's storytelling during their time together.

Bruhl recollected Lauda saying: "Well, have dinner with us tonight, my new wife and my ex-wife, and you're gonna see it's more explosive than a Formula 1 race." Lauda's wisdom and presence have been missed since his passing, but his famous humour has continued to make us smile.

An aviation giant outside of F1

Lauda was a keen pilot, even during his years as a racing driver, and when he first retired from F1 in 1979, he started setting his sights a little higher.

During his few seasons away from the sport, Lauda founded Lauda Air, with the Austrian often one of the pilots. From a man that had borrowed money to fund his F1 career, this next career move was almost unsurprising – a man with his determination was hardly going to fade into obscurity.

The airline continued alongside his F1 comeback in 1982, and he balanced both careers until his second and final retirement from F1 racing in 1985. Running Lauda Air took up a majority of his time post-racing career, so he was seldom seen in the F1 paddock in a professional capacity again until he sold his shares in the company in 1999.

He founded a second airline company in the following years, Niki in 2003 – which later merged with Berlin Air, and then even took over another airline in 2016 which he renamed LaudaMotion. While he was most well-known for his World Championship titles and racing exploits, his passion for aviation was undeniable – and he certainly left his mark there too.

A fantastic author

The life of an F1 driver is intense, and in between racing, testing and training there isn’t time for other time-consuming activities such as, perhaps, writing a book. But Lauda penned four.

First was The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving (1977), which he wrote after his championship-winning year with Ferrari. It included a retelling of his traumatic Nurburgring crash in 1976, his rehabilitation and returning to race at Monza just weeks later, alongside revealing the technical aspects of F1 cars and how to tweak them for each race.

A year later came My Years with Ferrari (1978), with the lowdown on exactly what life was like for Lauda during his years with the Scuderia. During his second racing stint he wrote The New Formula-1: A Turbo Age (1984), which documented one of the largest technical turning points in motorsport – the transition to turbocharged power units in the early '80s.

Upon his retirement came his final book: Niki Lauda. Meine Story (1986) – his highly beloved autobiography, which gave fans an unprecedented look into his life and racing career.