Former F1 champion Niki Lauda dead at 70

[webfact]

Former F1 champion Lauda dead at 70

 

FILE PHOTO: Niki Lauda poses at the airport in Duesseldorf, Germany, March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

 

(Reuters) - Three-times Formula One champion Niki Lauda has died at 70, months after having a lung transplant, his former racing team McLaren confirmed on Tuesday.

 

"All at McLaren are deeply saddened to learn that our friend, colleague and 1984 Formula 1 World Champion, Niki Lauda, has passed away," the team said.

"Niki will forever be in our hearts and enshrined in our history."

 

Lauda, who was hospitalised in January for about 10 days while suffering from influenza, died on Monday surrounded by family, according to a family statement published by Austrian media.

 

"His unique achievements as an athlete and entrepreneur are and will remain unforgettable, his tireless zest for action, his straightforwardness and his courage remain a role model and a benchmark for all of us, he was a loving and caring husband, father and grandfather away from the public, and he will be missed," the statement added.

 

Lauda won three world titles in 1975, 1977 and 1984 with Mercedes and Ferrari.

 

(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-05-21

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[Snow Leopard]

R.I.P Nicky. What a racing driver. 

[ezzra]

Will never forget Lauda air crash in Suphanburi in 1991 and what a display of disgusting animal like a human being behaviour of the locals who out of sheer greed pillaged and looted everything in sight hindering and obstructing search and rescue operation, will never forget...

[Briggsy]

3 minutes ago, ezzra said:

Will never forget Lauda air crash in Suphanburi in 1991 and what a display of disgusting animal like a human being behaviour of the locals who out of sheer greed pillaged and looted everything in sight hindering and obstructing search and rescue operation, will never forget...

I am glad you mentioned that, it saved me the bother.

[dabhand]

Very sad, but what a life he had.

 

On top of the F1 crash and the obvious health impact on his later life, the 1991 Lauda Air crash in Thailand also comes to mind. It is quite chilling to read the background to the crash and Lauda's subsequent efforts to prove that the cause behind the crash was aircraft and not pilot related. Despite much obfuscation by Boeing, Lauda made huge personal efforts to prove his case - seems nothing much changes in the world of Boeing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauda_Air_Flight_004

 

What a guy. He will be missed.

 

[MJKT2014]

11 minutes ago, dabhand said:

What a guy. He will be missed.

Agreed. Also lets not forget the Peanuts meme...

[Oztruckie]

15 minutes ago, dabhand said:

Very sad, but what a life he had.

 

On top of the F1 crash and the obvious health impact on his later life, the 1991 Lauda Air crash in Thailand also comes to mind. It is quite chilling to read the background to the crash and Lauda's subsequent efforts to prove that the cause behind the crash was aircraft and not pilot related. Despite much obfuscation by Boeing, Lauda made huge personal efforts to prove his case - seems nothing much changes in the world of Boeing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauda_Air_Flight_004

 

What a guy. He will be missed.

 

Cause of the crash was deployment of thrust reverse, seen it on air crash investigation a while ago, was another plane crash in Sao Paulo exact same reason. 

[ratcatcher]

R.I.P. (Rest In Pits) Nikki Lauda, you may now join the pantheon of laudable racing drivers in the other world..............Fangio, Rindt, Senna, Villeneuve, Bandini, Clark, Bianchi and many others.

Edited May 21, 2019 by ratcatcher

[webfact]

Austrian motor racing great Niki Lauda, who survived fiery crash, dies

By Francois Murphy and Alan Baldwin

 

FILE PHOTO: Niki Lauda, President of Niki low cost airline and former World Champion Formula One driver, poses during a press conference for the launch of a daily air link between Nice and Vienna at Nice International airport, southeastern France, March 19, 2010. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

 

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian motor racing great Niki Lauda, whose comeback from a near-fatal crash made him a global symbol of resilience and determination, has died at the age of 70.

 

Lauda was so badly injured in that accident at the 1976 German Grand Prix that a priest gave him the last rites as he lay in a coma.

 

His Ferrari had slammed into a barrier and then burst into flames as it spun back onto the track, where an oncoming car hit it again. By the time he was pulled from the wreckage, his face, scalp and right ear were severely burnt and his lungs scorched.

 

Just six weeks later, his burns bandaged and raw, he was racing again, vying to retain his Formula One world title. It remains one of the sport's most memorable acts of courage and defiance.

 

"It was the most terrifying weekend," he told Reuters in 2013, in a late admission about how scared he was to race so soon after cheating death. He finished fourth that day.

 

But he would rarely indulge in such sentiment, even long after a racing career in which he won three world championship titles, as many as Brazil's Ayrton Senna or Briton Jackie Stewart.

 

"It's finished. I live today and think of tomorrow. Take the experience," he said in the same interview.

 

Lauda, who would later become a racing team executive and airline entrepreneur, applied that no-nonsense style to most things. When he had accumulated so many trophies that were mostly "ugly and for me useless", he gave them to his local garageman in exchange for a lifetime of free car washes https://www.reuters.com/article/us-motor-racing-prix-lauda/niki-lauda-swapped-trophies-for-free-car-washes-idUSKCN0PE0SN20150704.

 

DOGGED 'RAT'

Apart from reconstructive work on his eyes and eyelids he opted against cosmetic surgery on the burns that disfigured him. Instead he covered much of them with a baseball cap that became his trademark, charging sponsors to put their logo on it.

 

"Sure, people change their tits and ass and whatever. In my case there could be something done but I wouldn't. Because this is a fact of life and that's it," he said.

 

Lauda also saw the lighter side. Even before his crash his buck teeth earned him the nickname "The Rat", and he would later recall that his friend and rival James Hunt told him he looked better after the accident than before -- a scene depicted in the Hollywood film "Rush" about their rivalry that season.

 

"Now if people try to annoy me with comments about my face, I just say: 'I had an accident. But you were born this way,'" he told German newspaper Die Welt.

 

He overcame internal injuries, too. After two kidney transplants in 1997 and 2009, he underwent a lung transplant in 2018, 42 years almost to the day after the crash at the Nuerburgring in which he inhaled hot toxic gases.

 

Doggedness was a hallmark of his life.

 

Born to a wealthy Vienna family, he defied its wishes to pursue a racing career. Lauda's grandfather, who was on the supervisory board of an Austrian bank, even blocked his own firm's sponsorship deal with his grandson. The family rebel took out loans to fund his early years.

 

A NEW LOW

In 1979, after two years with the less competitive Brabham-Alfa Romeo team in which he failed to win a world title, he decided he was fed up with driving and retired from the sport.

 

He struck out on his own again that year, founding his first airline, Lauda Air, which he would sell to Austrian Airlines three decades later, having made a habit of surprising passengers by flying their plane himself.

 

That career brought its own major setback in 1991 when a Lauda Air plane crashed in Thailand, killing 223 people. Eventually the Boeing plane rather than his airline was found to be at fault.

 

"People always think that the worst time of my life must have been after the German Grand Prix crash ... But it wasn't," he told the Observer newspaper in 2006. "When you run an airline and more than 200 people want to go from A to B and they don't arrive -- that's a different responsibility."

 

His love of aviation endured. Last year he bought back another airline he founded, Niki, after its new parent Air Berlin went bankrupt. He rebranded it Laudamotion and soon sold a stake to Ryanair, quickly recouping much of his investment.

 

As with aviation, he was unable to turn his back on racing for long. Just two years after he first retired from the sport, the McLaren team lured him back, and he won his third world championship in 1984. Only five drivers have won more titles.

 

His tally was very nearly higher. The year of his crash he lost the world title to Hunt by a single point after deciding the rain-soaked last race of the season was too dangerous. He retired after a single lap.

 

"The rain did not stop for two hours and this idiot Japanese race director came and said the race is on now... this for me was the most stupid decision ever. I did one lap so that Ferrari gets the money and off I went," he said.

 

Still, he said he had no regrets.

 

"For me it was logical. I think I would do the same thing again today."

 

(Additional reporting by Kirsti Knolle; editing by Darren Schuettler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-05-21

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[Justgrazing]

One of the legends of F1 and instrumental in improving the safety standards of what used to be a very dangerous sport after his own miraculous recovery from the horrendous crash in 1976 .. Also instrumental in convincing Lewis Hamilton to leave McLaren and join Mercedes where he was a highly thought of .. Sad loss this .. No doubt F1 will pay a fitting tribute to him at the next round this weekend .. 

[geoffbezoz]

A very great, brave and gracious guy. RIP. Hope there is a fitting tribute to him at Monaco this weekend.

[VocalNeal]

Sad loss. A big mate of James Hunt. The one thing in F1 he wanted to be was like James. James called him the only man to have half his face burned off and come out looking better.

 

RIP

[sandrabbit]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Lauda won three world titles in 1975, 1977 and 1984 with Mercedes and Ferrari.

and McLaren in 1984.

 

The man had great humility and a fantastic sense of humour, loved seeing him being interviewed on Sky during his time with Mercedes.

Edited May 21, 2019 by sandrabbit

[Mansell]

I was in the pits at the 1976 Long Beach GP standing behind his Ferrari taking pics when they started his engine.....it was like a bomb exploding and scared the crap out of me. Got to interview JAMES Hunt not knowing he would become WC after Niki's accident later that year. What a great driver Niki was winning his three World Championships. The last one in 1984 winning by a half point against the also great Alain Prost, his team mate. A no-nonsense guy with amazing guts. RIP brother.

[Dexlowe]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

Will never forget Lauda air crash in Suphanburi in 1991 and what a display of disgusting animal like a human being behaviour of the locals who out of sheer greed pillaged and looted everything in sight hindering and obstructing search and rescue operation, will never forget...

I saw that as well, with my own eyes. Wife, daughter and I were returning to Bkk when it happened. I had my semi-pro camera gear with me and thought I could get some pics I could sell, but there were so many people pouring into the area and so much hysteria that my wife begged me to leave. Before we left we saw people carrying objects that looked like wreckage. Later, I read the stories ....

[geoffbezoz]

24 minutes ago, Mansell said:

I was in the pits at the 1976 Long Beach GP standing behind his Ferrari taking pics when they started his engine.....it was like a bomb exploding and scared the crap out of me. Got to interview JAMES Hunt not knowing he would become WC after Niki's accident later that year. What a great driver Niki was winning his three World Championships. The last one in 1984 winning by a half point against the also great Alain Prost, his team mate. A no-nonsense guy with amazing guts. RIP brother.

Fabulous

[moonlighter19]

RIP Niki. You will always be remembered as one of the great race drivers out there. 

[Cereal]

Sad day. Lauda was a superstar in a room full of superstars. The movie "Rush" was incredible. Strength and bravery.

[thecyclist]

6 hours ago, ezzra said:

Will never forget Lauda air crash in Suphanburi in 1991 and what a display of disgusting animal like a human being behaviour of the locals who out of sheer greed pillaged and looted everything in sight hindering and obstructing search and rescue operation, will never forget...

Thanks for reminding us. It showed the sheer avarice and ruthlessness (when it comes to acquisition of money and power) of Thai nature :Didn't they even break fingers and hands of corpses to remove rings and bracelets. A disgusting display of Thai savageness. 

[tandor]

...so sad to hear..what an icon, a lovely man and devoted racer in all aspects..RIP Mr. Lauder.

[tandor]

1 hour ago, thecyclist said:

Thanks for reminding us. It showed the sheer avarice and ruthlessness (when it comes to acquisition of money and power) of Thai nature :Didn't they even break fingers and hands of corpses to remove rings and bracelets. A disgusting display of Thai savageness. 

it may be paradise etc compared to where we have lived, but keep one eye open and your rear vision mirror clean and keep doing a reality check every six seconds.

[Caldera]

RIP Niki, truly a legend and a great man.

[emptypockets]

7 hours ago, Dexlowe said:

I saw that as well, with my own eyes. Wife, daughter and I were returning to Bkk when it happened. I had my semi-pro camera gear with me and thought I could get some pics I could sell, but there were so many people pouring into the area and so much hysteria that my wife begged me to leave. Before we left we saw people carrying objects that looked like wreckage. Later, I read the stories ....

I'm struggling to see the difference between you and them.

[Pique Dard]

a real champ! a real fighter on f1 circuits. a real fighter in real life when he traveled to seatle and proved to the manufacturer the crash of  his plane was due to manufacturing defects

[Tug]

A true renaissance man rip sir

[mike787]

RIP.  Great movie about him.  

[30la]

Everyone must leave this planet, now it's your turn CHAMP! Rest in peace Niki!

[hotchilli]

One of the true F1 drivers... he was highly regarded by all involved in the sport at the time.

A very eventful life...

RIP

[griffon2011]

On 5/21/2019 at 9:58 AM, Oztruckie said:

Cause of the crash was deployment of thrust reverse, seen it on air crash investigation a while ago, was another plane crash in Sao Paulo exact same reason. 

Prior to this crash I had a conversation with an aircraft mechanic for one of the major airlines who had just returned to LA where he witnessed a partial deployment of the thrust reversers in flight on the same type of Boeing aircraft.  He was quite upset over this and we discussed the technical aspects of this incident as I worked for McDonnell Douglas in field service at this time.  My guess is that this condition was known but difficult to duplicate and troubleshoot in a timely manner before this accident occurred.  

[Dexlowe]

16 hours ago, emptypockets said:

I'm struggling to see the difference between you and them.

I wasn't there to steal. I was there as a professional, with appropriate media accreditation, to record the scene for posterity.