Discipline and a foul mouth 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-lived 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.A legend in Formula 1 and currently the team manager for Mercedes, Lauda always wears a baseball cap to cover his burn scars from his auto accident in 1976.
In his career he won 25 races in the Formula 1 World Championships; he won 24 pole positions in Formula 1 World Championships and founded Lauda Air in 1978. Lauda Air is Austria's second largest commercial airline.
Today he is team manager at Mercedes.
He is the only driver to win a race in an F1 car fitted with a fan to generate down force.
Notable quotes:
*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?
*Happiness is an enemy. It weakens you. Suddenly, you have something to lose.
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