The best Formula One car racer of all time: Niki Lauda
Andreas Nikolaus “Niki” Lauda was the Austrian racecar driver who won three world championships in Formula One and became one of the greatest drivers of all time. Niki was interested in racing from an early age and had his first race when he was only 19 years old. Throughout his career, he was injured many times in car crashes, but he never considered retirement and always returned to the track.
Niki was known for his introverted character: he didn’t like parties and crowds; instead he was always concentrating on preparation for races and had a well-organised and disciplined lifestyle. His lifelong rival, James Hunt, however, often got drunk, took drugs, and was a kind of rock star. Nevertheless, Niki and James were friends all their lives and competed throughout their careers.
One of the most famous and horrific Niki’s races was the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring in 1951. It rained, and the track was slick. At some point, Nicky lost control of his blood-red Ferrari Formula One, broke the fence and bounced back onto the track, where he was hit by following cars. After that, the fuel tank of his car burst, and Niki had burns on his face, head, and hands. He also had a lot of fractures, and smoke and gases from the burnt car’s interior damaged his lungs.
Niki was taken to the hospital in a coma. At some point, the doctors had given up on him, and the priest came to Niki’s bedside. The driver was conscious but became angry when he saw the priest — he claimed that he was still alive and there was no need to mourn.
Niki didn’t have any memory of the crash, so nobody still knows what exactly caused his loss of control and subsequent devastating accident. After this crash, Niki still hadn’t considered retirement and wanted to come back to the championship as soon as possible. His wife also didn’t ask him to stop racing and supported him throughout his racing career. Thus, just six weeks after the crash, he returned to the competition. Although he came to the finish line fourth, the crowd greeted his return.
In 1976, the same risk was repeated in the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix in Japan, where it also rained and the track was dangerous for the race. Despite Niki’s suggestion to stop the race, the organisers decided to start it because they didn’t want to lose money from the television contracts. Nevertheless, Nicky quit because he felt that the rain-soaked track was unsafe. He probably saved his life by making this choice, although it has worsened his relationship with Ferrari. James Hunt won this championship, making him a world champion.
Also, people still argued over who was the more talented driver: Niki Lauda or James Hunt? Although they competed all their lives, Lauda was undoubtedly a better driver than Hunt. Niki was the Formula One World Champion in 1975, 1977, and 1984, and Hunt’s only championship season was 1976.
Niki worked as a consultant to Ferrari and Jaguar after retiring from a driving career, and was a chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. James Hunt retired from the race after spinning out during his only championship campaign. Hunt died of a heart attack at the age of 45. Lauda died in his sleep, aged 70.
