Niki Lauda, three-time Formula 1 world champion and aviation entrepreneur, dies at the age of 70
Legendary Formula 1 driver Niki Lauda has died, his family confirmed in a statement. The three-time world champion passed away at the age of 70 surrounded by family. Lauda had received a lung transplant just eight months before his death on Monday.
“With deep sadness, we announce that our beloved Niki has peacefully passed away with his family on Monday,” his family said in a statement to an Austrian news outlet. "His unique achievements as an athlete and entrepreneur are and will remain unforgettable, his tireless zest for action, his straightforwardness and his courage remain. A role model and a benchmark for all of us, he was a loving and caring husband, father and grandfather away from the public, and he will be missed."
Lauda won the F1 drivers' championship in 1975 and 1977 with Ferrari and again in 1984 with McLaren. In 1976, he was badly burned when he crashed during the German Grand Prix but made an astonishingly fast return to racing just six weeks later. Lauda remained closely involved with the Formula One circuit after retiring as a driver in 1985 and in fact, he was the one who is credited with bringing Lewis Hamilton to the team when he served as Mercedes' non-executive chairman in 2012. The driver also has also had two kidney transplants, one in 1997 and another in 2005, that he received from his brother and his wife. "Due to kidney problems, he had to be transferred from the rehabilitation centre to a private clinic for dialysis,” Lauda’s brother Florian confirmed to a news outlet.
Born on February 22, 1949, into a wealthy Vienna industrial family, Nikolaus Andreas Lauda was expected to follow his father's footsteps into the paper-manufacturing industry, but instead concentrated his business talents and determination on his dreams of becoming a racing driver.
