Niki Lauda

Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian racing driver, motorsport executive, and aviation entrepreneur. He raced in Formula One from 1971 to 1979 and again from 1982 to 1985, winning three World Drivers' Championships and 25 Grands Prix over 13 seasons. When he retired, he held the record for most podium finishes with 54, and he remains the only driver to have won a championship with both Ferrari and McLaren.

Born and raised in Vienna, Lauda was the grandson of industrialist Hans Lauda. He began in karting, moved to Formula Vee, and raced privateer cars in the late 1960s. When his career stalled, he took out a bank loan to secure a spot in European Formula Two with March Engineering, making his Formula One debut with the team. He was promoted to a full-time seat, finishing the season unclassified in the championship while winning the British Formula Two title. He moved to BRM, scored his first points in Belgium, and earned a Ferrari seat alongside Clay Regazzoni. Lauda took his first podium in his Ferrari debut and his first victory three races later. After winning five Grands Prix, he claimed his first title, becoming Ferrari's first champion in 11 years.

While leading the 1976 championship in a fierce battle with James Hunt, Lauda was badly injured at the Nürburgring when his Ferrari 312T2 caught fire in a crash. He suffered severe burns and life-changing injuries but returned to racing six weeks later, eventually losing the title by one point. He stayed with Ferrari in 1977, winning several races and clinching his second championship. He left Ferrari, replaced by Gilles Villeneuve, and signed with Brabham, where he achieved podiums in every race he finished, with wins in Sweden and Italy.

After a winless season with Brabham on Ford Cosworth V8 engines, he left the team and took a two-year hiatus. He returned with McLaren, winning multiple races. After a winless campaign, he was partnered by Alain Prost, beating Prost to his third title by a record half-point. With seven years between his second and third championships, Lauda holds the longest gap between title wins in the sport's history, breaking Jack Brabham's record of six. He retired after the 1985 season, taking his final victory, with 25 wins, 24 poles, 24 fastest laps, and 54 podiums.

Outside Formula One, Lauda won the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 1973 with Alpina and the inaugural BMW M1 Procar Championship in 1979 with Project Four. In aviation, he founded and managed three airlines: Lauda Air (1985–1999), Niki (2003–2011), and Lauda (2016 onward). He returned to Formula One in an advisory role at Ferrari, served as team principal of Jaguar, and from then until his death was non-executive chairman and co-owner of Mercedes, winning six consecutive Constructors' Championships. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993.

Lauda was born in Vienna to a wealthy paper manufacturing family. His grandfather was industrialist Hans Lauda. Despite his family's disapproval, he started racing with a Mini, moved to Formula Vee, and drove private Porsche and Chevron sports cars. With his career stalled, he took out a £30,000 bank loan secured by a life insurance policy to buy into the March team as a Formula Two driver in 1971.

He had an ongoing feud with his family over his ambitions and eventually cut contact. He was promoted to Formula One but drove for March in both series in 1972. While the Formula Two cars were good and his driving impressed team principal Robin Herd, March's Formula One season was catastrophic—at one point both cars were disqualified within three laps at the Canadian Grand Prix. Lauda took another loan to join BRM in 1973.

He was quick, but the team was in decline; the BRM P160E was fast but unreliable and underpowered. His popularity grew after running third at the Monaco Grand Prix before a gearbox failure ended his race, catching Enzo Ferrari's interest. When Clay Regazzoni left BRM to rejoin Ferrari, Enzo asked him about Lauda. Regazzoni spoke so highly that Ferrari signed Lauda, paying him enough to clear his debts.

After a disastrous start to the 1970s, Ferrari regrouped under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent. Lauda rewarded their faith with a second-place finish in his debut for the team at the Argentine Grand Prix. His first victory—and Ferrari's first since 1972—came three races later in Spain. He became the season's pacesetter.