Explosive Facts About Niki Lauda, The Godfather Of Formula One Racing
Niki Lauda turned out to be one of the richest, most successful Formula One race drivers in history, but the road to getting there was just as dangerous as the tracks he set ablaze, figuratively and literally!
1. He Had It All
Born in Austria in the late 1940s, Lauda likely grew up with all the luxuries a young boy could want. His family made a ton of money, and his family name carried huge weight in the society he grew up in. So when Lauda headed off to college, perhaps his family expected him to take over the family business. He did quite the opposite…
2. He Threw It All Away
By his family’s standards, that is. Lauda didn’t spend much time at university. He dropped out of school and decided to pursue a career in racing full time. The whole field of racing had only become a recognized sport a few decades earlier, and still bore a reputation for being extremely dangerous. Maybe that explains his family’s overly extreme reaction.
3. They Turned Their Back On Him
Lauda’s family refused to keep letting him access their money once he went into racing full time. Lauda’s reaction was chilling. Eventually, he went the extra step and cut off communication with his family himself, putting distance between their disapproval and his dreams.
But he needed money to fund his dreams—which led him to an extreme move of his own.
4. He Bet On Himself
Niki Lauda bet on himself—quite literally. In the early 1970s, Lauda bought himself a spot on the March Engineering Formula Two and Formula One racing teams.
He took out a loan on his own insurance policy, paying the team a whopping $30,000 to add him to their roster. Unfortunately for him, though, things got much worse before they got even a little better.
