Niki Lauda: Full Biography
Andreas Nikolaus “Niki” Lauda was an Austrian racing driver, team manager and airline founder who won three Formula 1 World Championships and remains the only driver to have taken a title with both Ferrari and McLaren.
Against the Family Born in Vienna into a wealthy industrial family that refused to fund a racing career, Lauda borrowed against his own name to buy his way into March in 1971. Ferrari signed him for 1974; he won his first Grand Prix in Spain that year and his first championship in 1975, with nine pole positions from fourteen races.
The Nürburgring and After On 1 August 1976 his Ferrari crashed and caught fire at the Nürburgring, leaving him with severe burns and lung damage. He missed two races and finished fourth at Monza six weeks later. He lost that championship by a single point after withdrawing from a flooded final round in Japan, and won it back in 1977.
Retirement, Return, and the Third Title He walked away from the sport in 1979 to run Lauda Air, returned with McLaren in 1982, and took his third title in 1984 by half a point from team-mate Alain Prost. He later ran the Jaguar team, was non-executive chairman of Mercedes from 2012 until his death in 2019, and won six constructors’ championships in that role.
