Niki Lauda
Lauda at the 1982 Dutch Grand Prix
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| Born | Andreas Nikolaus Lauda 22 February 1949 Vienna, Austria |
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| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 Austrian |
| Active years | 1971–1979, 1982–1985 |
| Teams | March, BRM, Ferrari, Brabham, McLaren |
| Entries | 177 (171 starts) |
| Championships | 3 (1975, 1977, 1984) |
| Wins | 25 |
| Podiums | 54 |
| Career points | 420.5 |
| Pole positions | 24 |
| Fastest laps | 24 |
| First entry | 1971 Austrian Grand Prix |
| First win | 1974 Spanish Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1985 Dutch Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1985 Australian Grand Prix |
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (born 22 February 1949) is an Austrian former Formula One driver and a three-time F1 World Drivers' Champion, winning in 1975, 1977 and 1984. He is currently the only driver to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, the sport's two most successful constructors. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines (Lauda Air and Niki). He is also Bombardier Business Aircraft brand ambassador. He was also a consultant for Scuderia Ferrari and team manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years. He is currently working as a pundit for German TV during Grand Prix weekends and acts as non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team.
Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, during which his Ferrari burst into flames and he came close to death after inhaling hot toxic fumes and suffering severe burns. However, he survived, and recovered enough to race again just six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix.
Niki Lauda was born on 22 February 1949 in Vienna, Austria, to a wealthy family. His paternal grandfather was the Viennese-born businessman Hans Lauda.
Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. After starting out with a Mini, Lauda moved on into Formula Vee, as was normal in Central Europe, but rapidly moved up to drive in private Porsche and Chevron sports cars. With his career stalled, he took out a £30,000 GBP bank loan, secured by a life insurance policy, to buy his way into the fledgling March team as a Formula Two (F2) driver in 1971. Because of his family's disapproval he had an ongoing feud with his family over his racing ambitions and abandoned further contact. He was quickly promoted to the F1 team, but drove for March in F1 and F2 in 1972. Although the F2 cars were good (and Lauda's driving skills impressed March principal Robin Herd), March's 1972 F1 season was catastrophic. Lauda took out another bank loan to buy his way into the BRM team in 1973. Lauda was instantly quick, but the team was in decline; his big break came when his BRM teammate Clay Regazzoni left to rejoin Ferrari in 1974 and team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke so favourably of Lauda that Ferrari promptly signed him, paying Niki enough to clear his debts.
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