Biography

Niki Lauda

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Born to a wealthy family in Vienna, Niki Lauda did not use the conventional methods of a man his means to become a world champion race driver. Far from it, his family disapproved and refused to finance his career, but Lauda plodded on, racing in the lesser ranks before getting his first break in Formula 1 with March. After a couple of fruitless seasons in F1, he caught the attention of legendary car builder Enzo Ferrari, and was soon driving for the famed "Prancing Horse." Lauda came close to winning the World Championship in 1974, but secured the coveted title the next year with a stellar season. Lauda was well on his way to winning again in 1976, but was nearly killed in a fiery crash at Nurburgring, Germany. In nothing short of a miracle, Lauda was back racing in six weeks despite being scarred in the face from his burns, yet nearly won the title, losing by only a single point to James Hunt. Lauda recaptured the F1 world title in 1977, raced one more year before announcing his retirement in 1978, to devote more time to his fledgling Lauda Air. His retirement was short as he came back to race, this time for McLaren, in 1982. With McLaren, Lauda won his third and final championship in 1984, and retired for good in 1985 with 25 career wins and the admiration of the racing world. He is the founder, CEO and occasional pilot at Lauda Air, which is the second largest commercial airlines in Austria, and is a consultant for Ferrari.
- IMDb mini biography by: Ken Severson

Wears a Parmalat (Italian dairy) baseball cap at all times to cover his burn scars from his auto accident in 1976.
Bright blue eyes
Overbite

The only man to win a race in an F1 car fitted with a fan to generate down force.
Stated in an interview, that a "certain company" pays him over a million Euros a year to have their logo on the hat he wears over his burns, when he's in public.
Raced in Formula One for a total of 13 years. Formula 1 world champion in 1975, 1977 & 1984. Won 25 career races in Formula 1 World Championship. Won 24 pole positions in Formula 1 World Championship. Founder of Lauda Air in 1978. Lauda Air is Austria's second largest commercial airlines. Often piloted Boeing 737 & 747 jets at Lauda Air. He was also an advisor of the Ferrari F1 team and a team boss of the Jaguar team.
He 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.
He and his first wife, Marlene Knaus, have two children: Lucas (b.1979) and Mathias (b.1981). Has twin children with wife Birgit named Max and Mia (b. September 6, 2009). Also has a son Christoph (b. 1982).

[re making of Rush (2013)] I had been approached before, but the ideas always seemed to me boring. Peter Morgan and Ron Howard - these are the right people. Ron Howard had no idea about racing. He was like a little kid, with unbelievable enthusiasm. But the story comes very well across.
[re his injuries after famous 1976 accident] At the time I was upset by how people reacted. They wouldn't look me in the eye, which I thought was rude. But I have to say I was startled by the movie and I understand now. [Rival racer James] Hunt used to say to me: 'Niki, you're lucky. Some people are just born ugly, but you have the excuse of an accident.'
I always go extreme ways.
There are more important things in life than the world championship, like staying alive.
A lot of people criticize Formula 1 as an unnecessary risk. But what would life be like if we only did what is necessary?

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