Niki Lauda

February 22, 1949 – May 20, 2019 · Racing driver · Austria

“Courage measured in laps, not words”

Austrian Formula One driver and three-time world champion whose return to racing just six weeks after a near-fatal fiery crash remains sport's greatest comeback.

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Their story

Andreas Nikolaus Lauda was born in Vienna in 1949 to a wealthy family that disapproved of racing, so he financed his early career with bank loans taken against his own name. Methodical and unsentimental, he rose quickly through Formula Two, and after joining Ferrari he won his first world championship in 1975, restoring the famous team to glory.

At the 1976 German Grand Prix on the Nürburgring his Ferrari crashed and burst into flames, leaving him with severe burns and lung damage; he was read the last rites. Forty days later he returned to race at Monza, finishing fourth, and he won the title again in 1977. After retiring he came back with McLaren and took a third championship in 1984 by half a point.

Away from the cockpit he founded and ran airlines, and as non-executive chairman of the Mercedes Formula One team he helped build a modern dynasty, signing Lewis Hamilton. He died in Zurich in 2019 from complications following a lung transplant. His legacy is clear-eyed bravery, the will to face fear, count the odds and drive on anyway.

A life in moments

1949
Born Andreas Nikolaus Lauda in Vienna, Austria.
1975
Won his first Formula One world championship with Ferrari.
1976
Survived a fiery crash at the Nürburgring and returned to racing six weeks later.
1977
Reclaimed the world championship in a defiant second title with Ferrari.
1984
Won a third world title with McLaren by half a point over Alain Prost.
2019
Died in Zurich at 70 from complications after a lung transplant.
Today
Honoured as Formula One's bravest champion and one of its wisest minds.