October 22, 2024 | J. Clarke

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…

Niki Lauda, Austrian racing driver in red racing outfitGP Library, Getty Images

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.

Niki Lauda driving Ferrari 312TXjs-Khaos, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

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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.

Niki Lauda in white t-shirt on a motorcycleLothar Spurzem, CC BY-SA 2.0 DE, Wikimedia Commons

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.

Niki Lauda, 1975 British Grand PrixGillfoto, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

5. He Failed

Niki Lauda did fairly well on the new team, even winning races. But the team took a huge loss on the season overall, seeming to stunt his ability to continue to grow there. So he made a drastic decision. He turned his sights elsewhere, and ultimately set them on British Racing Motors (BRM).

He joined their team the very next year, but it came at another hefty price.

Niki Lauda racing in BRM carAntonio Legarreta, Wikimedia Commons

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6. He Did It Again

Undaunted, Niki Lauda somehow managed to take out another huge loan to get onto BRM. His year with them turned out better than his year with March, but still not nearly good enough. Their cars didn’t stack up well against other teams. So much so that one car failure in particular probably cost the team their newest, most brazen driver.

Niki Lauda at Grand Prix Deutschland 1973Hoch Zwei, Getty Images

7. He Didn’t Make It

Despite his team’s subpar cars, Niki Lauda himself started to make quite the impression on fans and other teams alike. He boasted a fearlessness that made him a hard competitor in nearly every race. So when he lost the Monaco Grand Prix due to a transmission issue, he likely felt more than ready to move on. Except, one little thing hung over his head…Grand Prix of Monaco, Monaco, 03 June 1973.Paul-Henri Cahier, Getty Images

8. They Wanted Him

One little big thing, that is. Despite his loans, Niki Lauda still owed the team money for his travels and equipment. Considering his growing reputation, BRM decided to cut Lauda a special deal in order to protect themselves against his cutthroat, team-jumping ways. They offered to clear his record of any money he owed them if he stayed with them another two years.

He made a new rich friend, instead.

Niki Lauda at Grand Prix of SpainBernard Cahier, Getty Images

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9. They Paid Him Off

While racing with BRM, Niki Lauda caught the eye of another owner and his team—Enzo Ferrari and his namesake, Ferrari. Considering their own waning success with race cars, Ferrari saw a unique opportunity with Lauda—so they made a cutthroat move of their own.

They paid off his debt to BRM to get him on their team. But, of course, things didn’t quite go like they planned.

Enzo Ferrari at Monza in 1967Rainer W. Schlegelmilch, Wikimedia Commons

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10. He Hated It

Niki Lauda did a test drive as soon as he signed over to Ferrari. His assessment of their 1974 Ferrari 312 didn’t go well—and that’s putting it much more kindly than he did. Though the team’s owner probably had some thoughts on Lauda’s flippant attitude and blunt demeanor, the young driver soon proved himself worth putting up with.

Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda in Rush (2013)Working Title, Rush (2013)

11. He Found His Place

Lauda placed second in his first race with Ferrari, and went on to win the team’s first Grand Prix in several years. He only took home one other big win that year at the Spanish Grand Prix, but he’d effectively set the tone as the new face of Ferrari racing. Even more, Lauda found himself primed to do things never before seen on the racetrack.

Niki Lauda in  Formula 1 FerarriChristianSinclair, Flickr

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12. He Did It First

His next year at Ferrari proved even more successful than the first. On top of several wins, he set a new world record. He completed the Nurburgring Nordschleife racetrack in Germany in record time, less than seven minutes. But even with his skyrocketing success, the very act of getting into the race car regularly put Lauda at serious risk.

1975 Italian GP race start - Niki Lauda & Clay RegazzoniRainer W. Schlegelmilch, Wikimedia Commons

13. He Lived On The Edge

Though safety in the sport continued to steadily improve, driving at such high speeds still posed serious danger. Like many drivers, Niki Lauda regularly experienced car issues like tire problems or even fuel leaks while in his races. Nothing seemed to derail him, though. In fact, he doubled down on his nonchalance, even when it came to his big wins.

Niki Lauda  at the 1974 British Grand PrixMartin Lee, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

14. He Didn’t Care

Reportedly, Lauda didn’t care to keep the many trophies he started to amass from his wins. In fact, rather than keep them, he did something bizarre with them. He started giving them away to garages in exchange for free car washes.

Going into his third year with Ferrari, he seemed destined for more greatness. But a shocking tragedy loomed on the horizon.

Niki Lauda third place at 1975 Italian GPUnknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

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15. He Hesitated

After several big wins at the start of the 1976 season, Niki Lauda set his sights on winning the German Grand Prix. But this time, it wasn’t the cars that were the problem. The circuit there needed serious work. Reportedly, the track didn’t have anywhere near the necessary safety requirements, specifically the tools needed in the event of a fire.

Lauda refused to take that lying down.

Niki Lauda - Ferrari 312T2 at a race 1976Martin Lee, Flickr

16. He Made Some Noise

Niki Lauda attempted to wrangle up a protest, encouraging other drivers to boycott the event all together. As a champion driver at that point, he probably thought he’d have a huge influence on them. However, none of the drivers joined him, and the race continued as planned. The decision came back to haunt them in the most horrifying way.

Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda in Rush (2013)Working Title, Rush (2013)

17. He Crashed

The first lap of the German Grand Prix on August 1, 1976, sped by without issue. But during the second lap, things literally went up in flames. Lauda’s car skidded off the track, colliding with a barrier and another car before immediately catching fire. The driver in the other car managed to get out right away, but Lauda couldn’t move a muscle.

Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda in Rush (2013)Working Title, Rush (2013)

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18. He Got Trapped

Stuck in his car as the fire blazed larger and hotter, Lauda suffered serious third degree burns and damaging smoke inhalation. Several drivers, along with one fire marshal, rushed into the flames and managed to free him from the car.

He got out of the car on his feet, but by the time he got to the hospital, he lost all consciousness.

Niki Lauda Niki Lauda car after crashBernard Cahier, Getty Images

19. He Got The Worst Of It

As if the accident and fire itself didn’t present enough danger, Lauda’s helmet also didn’t fit him snugly enough. The consequences were seriously disturbing. Reportedly, it dislodged during the accident, resulting in very serious burning to his head, face, and left ear.

Even so, perhaps people expected the seemingly fearless Lauda to walk away from it all—but things took a very dark turn.

Niki Lauda car crash in NurburbringEl Gráfico, Wikimedia Commons

20. They Called It

Once at the hospital, doctors furiously attempted to cater to Lauda’s wounds. In addition to his burns, he suffered broken bones and lung issues from the smoke. As he lay unconscious, they concluded he wouldn’t make it, and called in a priest to administer his last rites. The priest did his thing—but what happened next was astounding.

Niki Lauda 29.10.1984 wearing a hatAnefo / Croes, Wikimedia Commons

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21. He Made It

Somehow, Niki Lauda managed to regain consciousness and quickly started to recover. The accident did majorly disfigure his face, though, with scarring from the burns. But he didn’t take the time to let the doctors do any serious surgery to fix the aesthetics. In keeping with the kind of man everyone knew him to be, he wanted to get back on the track ASAP.

Austrian racing driver Niki Lauda in 1976 at MonzaTony Duffy, Getty Images

22. He Made A Comeback

Just six weeks after his accident, Lauda showed up to a press conference in preparation for an upcoming race. When reporters saw him, an audible shockwave went through the crowd. He appeared with his head still covered in bandages, and some even report that he sometimes bled through them in public.

Still, he revealed his plan to race in the upcoming Grand Prix and did just that—though not as easily as he made it look.

Niki Lauda training at NürburgringLothar Spurzem, CC BY-SA 2.0 DE, Wikimedia Commons

23. He Was Terrified

By his own admission, the prospect of getting back on the racetrack after surviving a nearly fatal accident there only a little over a month before truly scared Niki Lauda. It didn’t scare him enough, though. With bandages secured firmly under a new helmet, he raced to a fourth place finish at the Italian Grand Prix. The fans went absolutely crazy.

Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda in Rush (2013)Working Title, Rush (2013)

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24. They Adored Him

People across the world of racing celebrated Lauda’s bravery and courage. Then he pushed the boundaries of his devil-may-care attitude. He reportedly touted that he found it easier to talk on the phone without half his ear. Even more than that, though, the now well-to-do driver found a way to make a little money off his tragedy.

Niki Lauda at 1976 British Grand PrixGeorge Voudouris, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

25. He Made It Work For him

After the incident, Niki Lauda began to wear a special cap to cover his scars—and then he did something that changed the face of Formula One forever. He turned it into a business by offering the item to a sponsor to use as ad space. Pretty brilliant, if I do say so myself.

It seemed nothing could stop him. But everyone didn’t fawn over his miraculous return. In fact, some of his competition tried to take advantage of his accident.

Niki Lauda training in F1GERARD FOUET, Getty Images

26. He Had A Frenemy

James Hunt, a British racer, likely began crossing paths with Lauda in the early 1970s as he himself rose to fame in the sport. But by 1976, his friend Lauda posed the biggest threat to him winning the World Championship. So when the accident took Lauda down for several weeks, Hunt contested Lauda’s rankings. That didn’t stop him, though—something else did.

James Hunt at some sort of conferenceMr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

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27. He Showed Up

By the time the Japanese Grand Prix, the last race of the season, arrived, all eyes were on Lauda and Hunt. Lauda ranked just a few spots behind Hunt, who ranked as first, and could still win the championship in this race. When the day of the race arrived, though, both drivers faced something they didn’t at all see coming.

James Hunt British Gp 1976Martin Lee, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

28. He Got Beat

The race took place during serious rainfall. And though Lauda did start the race, what he did next seemed to go against everything he stood for. He gave up after two laps, effectively giving Hunt the win. After everything he experienced, it might seem difficult to understand why that was the point at which he bowed out. But there turned out to be more to it than a rainy day.

Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda in Rush (2013)Working Title, Rush (2013)

29. It Caught Up With Him

Driving in serious rain already puts all the drivers at more risk than driving in normal weather would. But to make it even more difficult for Lauda, he struggled with watery eyes from the way his accident affected his tear ducts. In the end, he chose his life over the risk of the win. Seems like an easy choice to me—but his boss didn’t feel the same way.

Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda in Rush (2013)Working Title, Rush (2013)

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30. He Didn’t Like It

Lauda’s last minute withdrawal from the championship winning race in Japan didn’t sit well with Enzo Ferrari at all. Reportedly, Ferrari went on the lookout for a replacement driver, possibly to avoid another championship-losing withdrawal. He landed on Carlos Reutemann, a driver from Argentina. Lauda didn’t take it well.

Niki Lauda at Grand Prix of JapanBernard Cahier, Getty Images

31. He Took It Personally

The whole situation rubbed Niki Lauda the wrong way, making him feel like his own team didn’t really support him. Reportedly, he’d associated with Reutemann before and didn’t like him, so working with him really got under his skin. Lauda ended up announcing his plans to leave Ferrari that same year, but in the end he managed to do it with a little extra bit of pettiness.

Carlos Reutemann And Niki Lauda 1975Ricardo Alfieri, Wikimedia Commons

32. He Left An Impression

Niki Lauda took on the 1977 racing season with finesse and skill. He raced so consistently and ranked so well that he clinched the World Championship before the final two races of the season. His next move was downright shocking. 

He immediately quit Ferrari and refused to do the last races. And if you think that’s bad, he did one more thing to show his displeasure.

Niki Lauda in Ferrari 312T2  at the 1977 Monaco GPMartin Lee, Flickr

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33. He Betrayed Them

For an astounding $1 million salary, Niki Lauda joined Ferrari’s highest competition at the time—Brabham-Alfa Romeo. It was the final blow in his contentious relationship with his ex-team. He’d come a long way from the young man who took out a loan on his own insurance to get on a team. Still, his new celebrity status didn’t promise a smooth course ahead.

Lauda At 1978 Dutch Grand PrixDanyele, CC BY-SA 3.0 NL, Wikimedia Commons

34. Things Went Downhill

Lauda’s years on the new team didn’t go nearly as well as his time with Ferrari. Their cars suffered from multiple design issues, causing him to have to withdraw from several races. Even so, he managed to pull out a few wins, and placed fourth in the 1978 championships. But by the next year, Lauda decided to change his whole life.

Lauda Celebrating At 1977 Dutch Grand PrixSuyk Koen, CC BY-SA 3.0 NL, Wikimedia Commons

35. He Quit

In a very Lauda way, he quit with some flair. Still with Brabham, he went to Canada for his second to last race of the 1979 season. After he did his practice run, he got out of the car and declared he didn’t want to “continue the silliness of driving around in circles.”

With that, he walked away from racing and turned his attention to an entirely different type of vehicle.

Niki Lauda at race in 1979Martin Lee, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

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36. He Flew Away

Niki Lauda launched his own airline, Lauda Air, that very same year. He even learned to fly, getting his pilot’s license and occasionally piloting flights for his passengers. But it takes money to run an airline, and though he made plenty in his years racing, he still needed more to push his new business ahead. He found himself doubling back, probably sooner than he anticipated.

Niki Lauda in blue jacketLadislaus Hoffner, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

37. He Went Big

In 1982, Niki Lauda returned to racing. This time, he signed with McLaren for a reported $3 million dollars, the highest salary awarded to anyone in the sport up to that time. He got cheeky with his negotiations, declaring he charged a dollar for his racing and the rest for his personality.

Good thing, considering the fact that his first year back proved rocky.

Niki Lauda 1982 at British GpMartin Lee, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

38. He Rallied

Before he officially hit the track again, Niki Lauda rallied for the support of other drivers to protest agreements around their sport. New contracts tried to make drivers fully commit to their respective teams, which ultimately affected their ability to negotiate their salaries. As you can imagine for such a mercenary driver, this rubbed Lauda the wrong way.

Lauda inspired the drivers to sit out on a race until they agreed to change it. This time, he won.

Lauda At 1982 Dutch Grand PrixHans van Dijk, Wikimedia Commons

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39. He Did His Thing

With the new agreements in place, Lauda returned to the work of proving he still had it. In that first year back, he won the Long Beach Grand Prix. But other than that, he didn’t climb back to the heights he did almost a decade prior. The next year brought even less success—he didn’t win a single race. But he still had some fire left in him…

niki lauda in McLarentwm1340, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

40. He Resisted

The following year, Alain Prost, a French racer, joined his team. And just as before, he struggled with having a new teammate. This time, he reportedly felt threatened by the driver, who brought his own history of wins to the team. Perhaps Lauda expected to be the main attraction of the team, considering his history. But in the end, things turned out much better than he expected.

Alain Prost in 1990Stuart Seeger, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

41. He Brought It Back

Niki Lauda ended the season grateful for having Prost to push him to be his most competitive. He ended the year with a record making world champion win, his third to that point. By this time, Lauda seemed to see the end of his career ahead, but that didn’t mean the end of his antics.

He tried to make one more sneaky move before the year ended.

Niki Lauda, c1978-c1979 in red outfitHeritage Images, Getty Images

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42. He Tried

Before the end of his 1984 season, Lauda attempted to leave McLaren for another team, Renault. Unfortunately for him, things didn’t work out as he hoped, and he ended up stuck with McLaren for another season. Ultimately, it seemed an unpleasant start to an equally unpleasant season, considering the way things ended up.

Niki Lauda of Austria in action in his McLaren 1984Mike Powell, Getty Images

43. He Flopped

The 1985 season turned out to be mostly a flop for Lauda. He withdrew from several races, partly due to breaking his wrist during a practice race. He won one more big Grand Prix that year, then finally decided to walk away from the sport for good—kind of.

Despite his own comments on its “silliness”, he never could truly get away.

Niki Lauda (No. 1) in German Grand Prix 1985Lothar Spurzem, CC BY-SA 2.0 DE, Wikimedia Commons

44. He Stuck Around

Over the next couple of decades, Lauda stuck around the world of racing in multiple different roles. This included work as a TV commentator for the sport, and in varying capacities for teams like Ferrari and Jaguar. But even so, it's quite possible nothing ever compared to the thrill of the racetrack—which might explain some of his antics later in life.

„Niki“ Lauda in Vienna, June 2011Waerfelu, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

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45. He Couldn’t Commit

Back in the mid 1970s, Niki Lauda married a Chilean model, Marlene Knaus. They raised two children together, but after over a decade of marriage, they broke things off in 1991. Rumors point to Lauda being more a bachelor than a married man, if you know what I mean. Which totally makes sense when you consider his next girlfriend.

Niki Lauda and wife at homealbane navizet, Getty Images

46. He Liked Them Young

Now in his early 40s, Niki Lauda began a romantic relationship with a female racecar driver about a decade younger than him, Giovanna Amati. All things considered, that doesn’t seem that serious of an age gap. But then he took it up a notch…

Niki Lauda presenting his book in 1996Smokeonthewater, Wikimedia Commons

47. He Locked It Down

In 2008, Lauda tied the knot with one of the flight attendants that worked on his airline, Birgit Wetzinger. Honestly, that already looks fishy. But it gets even worse when you realize Lauda would have been nearly 60 years old to her nearly 30. Either way, she came along just in time to save Lauda from another near-fatal encounter.

Niki Lauda and wife Birgit Wetzinger attend the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awardspicture alliance, Getty Images

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48. He Never Got Over It

Though Niki Lauda survived the serious accident he was in at the 1976 German Grand Prix and lived to race another day, in his final years it became clear that he had walked with away with far more than burns. He suffered with several health issues as he grew older, likely long-term damage from those moments he spent trapped in the blazing car, inhaling smoke and other toxic chemicals. He ended up needing a double lung transplant. 

But the issues with his kidneys turned out more dangerous. When the kidney donated to him by his brother failed, he turned to his next best option.

Niki Lauda with fansVeselin Borishev, Shutterstock

49. She Gave It Up

In 2005, after just a short time dating, Wetzinger donated a kidney to her older, far wealthier boyfriend. It granted him several more years of life, and the two even ended up having children together. He passed in 2019, his life ending peacefully as he slept.

But, as with everything Lauda did, even his passing came with a little extra dose of drama!

Niki Lauda GraveWaerfelu, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

50. She Wanted More

Considering that Wetzinger had gone as far as to donate a kidney to Lauda, she seemed like the perfect wife...but after his death, she did something that horrified family and friends. Even though Lauda left a very clear will allotting assets to both her and his children from a previous marriage, Wetzinger demanded more. 

She sued for several million more dollars from his foundation just a few years after his passing. One friend was quotes as saying, "Niki would turn in his grave!" Ultimately, Wetzinger won her lawsuit. All things considered, Lauda truly led an unforgettable life—both on and off the track.

Niki Lauda 1974 Race Of ChampionsMartin Lee, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons


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