Niki, good old Niki! It’s already been two years since his passing it’s mad that the first time we come back to Monaco is two years past Lauda death.
Niki is a legend of F1, I talked in my last blog about F1 not having GOATS but a hall of fame and this is true but I think the is also a very good argument Lauda could be the best of all time!
What NIki achieved in F1 career when you look at it is simply unimaginable. He’s technically the only para athlete F1 driver to ever win a championship! And not just one but two.
After his horrendous crash at the Nurburgring in 1976 I believe it would of simply been amazing if he’d of ever got back into a F1 car to complete maybe one parade lap like what Romain Grosjean is going to get the opportunity in a months time at the FrenchGP let alone to still compete at the top of his game.
What Lauda showed no matter what never give up he in a way defines in my opinion that sporting spirit. He set the bar for champions that came after him and you do have to ask yourself what could he also have achieved if it wasn’t for that horrific racing incident on that day! In my opinion he could of easily won 4 championships, no doubt he could of got maybe to 5, 6, 7 or more! Lauda crash was no doubt a set back for himself but rather than cowarding away from it he embraced it, he used it to his advantage and won. He beat James Hunt, and Ken for the future Alain Prost who not knowing to his knowledge at the time would go on to also become one of F1’s very best!
But Niki Lauda story didn’t stop there. After his F1 career he still stayed around in the F1 paddock serving as a great ambassador to many drivers and teams. Niki lived and breathed F1, F1 was in his blood and nothing else, he was truly a racer. Niki helped to run Jaguar and okay they didn’t plan the way it had intended but then he formed a new alliance with Mercedes in 2010! Niki helped to persuade Lewis in joining the German giants and then the rest is history.
Sadly though as they say in life “all good things must come to an end.” And that was no different here. Prior to the last Monaco GrandPrix the 90th installment of the historic race Niki Lauda passed away aged 70. It came at a awful time in the season due to it being on the eve of the Monaco GrandPrix but also with little surprise as prior to this Niki was in and out of hospital a fair amount. Niki however did die peacefully in his sleep at the University Hospital of Zürich.
RIP 🪦 1949-2019 Niki Lauda.
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