Niki Lauda facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Niki Lauda
Lauda in 1984
Born	Andreas Nikolaus Lauda (1949-02-22)22 February 1949 Vienna, Austria
Died	20 May 2019(2019-05-20) (aged 70) Zürich, Switzerland
Spouse(s)	Marlene Knaus ​ ​ (m. 1976; div. 1991)​ Birgit Wetzinger ​ (m. 2008)​
Children	4
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	1971–1979, 1982–1985
Teams	March, BRM, Ferrari, Brabham, McLaren
Entries	177 (171 starts)
Championships	3 (1975, 1977, 1984)
Wins	25
Podiums	54
Career points	420.5
Pole positions	24
Fastest laps	24
First entry	1971 Austrian Grand Prix
First win	1974 Spanish Grand Prix
Last win	1985 Dutch Grand Prix
Last entry	1985 Australian Grand Prix

Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, winning in 1975, 1977 and 1984, and is the only driver in Formula One history to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, two of the sport's most successful constructors.

Lauda is sometimes known by the nickname "the Rat", "SuperRat" or "King Rat" because of his prominent buck teeth.

Lauda is widely considered to be one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time.

Early years

Lauda at the Nürburgring in 1973, three years before his accident

Niki Lauda was born on 22 February 1949 in Vienna, Austria, to a wealthy paper manufacturing family. His paternal grandfather was the Viennese-born industrialist Hans Lauda.

Racing career

Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. He emerged as Formula One's star driver amid a 1975 title win and while leading the 1976 championship battle. Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix while racing at the Nürburgring; during the crash his Ferrari 312T2 burst into flames, nearly killing him after he inhaled hot toxic fumes and suffered severe burns. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. While in hospital he was given the last rites, but he survived. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows, and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and restoring their functionality. After the accident he always wore a cap to cover the scars on his head. He arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. Lauda said in a 2009 interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit that an advertiser was paying €1.2 million for the space on his red cap.

He recovered sufficiently to race again just six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix. Although he lost that year's title by just one point to James Hunt, he won his second championship the year after, during his final season at Ferrari. After a couple of years at Brabham and two years' hiatus, Lauda returned and raced four seasons for McLaren between 1982 and 1985, during which he won the 1984 title by half a point over his teammate Alain Prost.

Lauda practicing at the Nürburgring during the 1976 German Grand Prix

Helmet

Lauda's helmet was originally painted plain red with his full name written on both sides and the Raiffeisen Bank logo in the chin area. He wore a modified AGV helmet in the weeks following his Nürburgring accident so as the lining would not aggravate his burned scalp too badly. In 1982, upon his return to McLaren, his helmet was white and featured the red "L" logo of Lauda Air instead of his name on both sides, complete with branding from his personal sponsor Parmalat on the top. From 1983 to 1985, the red and white were reversed to evoke memories of his earlier helmet design.

Later years

In 1993, Lauda returned to Formula One in a managerial position when Luca di Montezemolo offered him a consulting role at Ferrari. Halfway through the 2001 season, Lauda assumed the role of team principal of the Jaguar Formula One team. The team failed to improve and Lauda was made redundant, together with 70 other key figures, at the end of 2002.

In September 2012, he was appointed non-executive chairman of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. He took part in negotiations to sign Lewis Hamilton to a three-year deal with Mercedes in 2013.

Lauda was also an aviation entrepreneur who founded and ran three airlines: Lauda Air, Niki and Lauda.

Legacy

Lauda in 2011

Lauda was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and from 1996 provided commentary on Grands Prix for Austrian and German television on RTL.

In 2005, the Austrian post office issued a stamp honouring him. In 2008, American sports television network ESPN ranked him 22nd on their "top drivers of all-time" list.

Niki Lauda wrote five books: The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving (titled Formula 1: The Art and Technicalities of Grand Prix Driving in some markets) (1975); My Years With Ferrari (1978); The New Formula One: A Turbo Age (1984); Meine Story (titled To Hell and Back in some markets) (1986); Das dritte Leben (en. The third life) (1996). Lauda credited Austrian journalist Herbert Volker with editing the books.

Film and television

Daniel Brühl, Lauda and Peter Morgan at the premiere of Rush in Vienna, Austria

The 1976 battle between Lauda and James Hunt was dramatized in the film Rush (2013), where Lauda was played by Daniel Brühl—a portrayal that was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. Lauda made a cameo appearance at the end of the film. Lauda said of Hunt's death, "When I heard he'd died age 45 of a heart attack I wasn't surprised, I was just sad." He also said that Hunt was one of the very few he liked, one of a smaller number of people he respected and the only person he had envied.

Lauda appeared in an episode of Mayday titled "Niki Lauda: Testing the Limits" regarding the events of Lauda Air Flight 004, and described running an airline as more difficult than winning three Formula 1 championships.

Personal life

Lauda had two sons with first wife, the Chilean-Austrian Marlene Knaus (married 1976, divorced 1991): Mathias, a racing driver, and Lukas, who acted as Mathias's manager. In 2008 he married Birgit Wetzinger, a flight attendant for his airline. In 2005, she donated a kidney to Lauda after the kidney he had received from his brother in 1997 failed. In September 2009, Birgit gave birth to twins.

Lauda spoke fluent German, English and Italian.

Lauda came from a Roman Catholic family. In an interview with Zeit he stated that he left the church for a time to avoid paying church taxes, but went back when he had his two children baptised.

Death

On 20 May 2019, Lauda died in his sleep, aged 70, at the University Hospital of Zürich, where he had been undergoing dialysis treatment for kidney problems. He had experienced a period of ill health, exacerbated by his lung injuries from the 1976 accident.

Lauda's grave in Vienna

Lauda asked to be buried wearing his Ferrari racing suit from 1974 to 1977. He was buried in Heiligenstädter Friedhof.

Racing record

Career summary

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete British Formula Two results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One non-championship results

Lauda at the 1974 Race of Champions

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete BMW M1 Procar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Other race results

• Nürburgring 24 Hours: 1st,1973
• 1000 km of Spa Francorchamps: 1st,1973
• 4 hours of Monza: 1st,1973
• 4 hours of Zandvoort: 1st,1974, 3rd,1972
• Diepholz SRP/GT: 1st,1970
• 6 hours of Nurbugring: 2nd,1971
• 9 hours of Kyalami: 3rd,1972
• Taurenpokal Salzburgring: 1st,1971

Images for kids

• 

  Lauda in 1975

• 

  Five years after his first retirement, Lauda won his third title driving a McLaren MP4/2.

• 

  Lauda's helmet from the 1970s, at the Museo Ferrari in Maranello

See also

In Spanish: Niki Lauda para niños