Formula 1: Three-time champion Niki Lauda dies at age 70
By Asher Fair
Three-time Formula 1 champion Niki Lauda has passed away after suffering kidney problems, his family announced Monday. He was 70 years old.
Formula 1 legend and three-time champion Niki Lauda has passed away at the age of 70 after suffering kidney problems, his family confirmed on Monday evening.
This news comes after it was revealed this morning that his return to the Formula 1 paddock as the non-executive chairman of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport had experienced a setback after he was transferred to a private clinic in Switzerland to receive dialysis treatment.
Here is what a statement from his family had to say about he matter, according to Express.
"“With deep sadness, we announce that our beloved Niki has peacefully passed away with his family on Monday, May 20, 2019. His unique achievements as an athlete and entrepreneur are and will remain unforgettable, his tireless zest for action, his straightforwardness and his courage remain. A role model and a benchmark for all of us, he was a loving and caring husband, father and grandfather away from the public, and he will be missed.”"
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The Austrian, born Andreas Nikolaus Lauda on February 22, 1949, had experienced several other health issues in recent years as well. He was still undergoing treatment following a lung transplant that he underwent last summer, and he also underwent two kidney transplants in 1997 and 2005.
Lauda competed in Formula 1 over the course of 13 seasons from 1971 to 1985, and he compete in a total of 171 races. He earned 25 victories, 54 podium finishes and 24 pole positions, and he led 1,658 of the 8,217 laps that he completed. He recorded an average starting position of 8.3 and an average finishing position of 10.7.
Lauda won his three Formula 1 championships in the 1975 season, the 1977 season and the 1984 season, but he is perhaps most praised for returning to the sport in the 1976 season after suffering severe burns to his face and being placed into a coma as a result of a crash in the Grand Prix of Germany at the Nurburgring.
He missed only two of the season’s 16 races before coming back and falling just one point shy (69 to 68) of winning the championship behind fierce rival James Hunt, whose rivalry with Lauda is detailed in Ron Howard’s 2013 movie Rush.
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Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends, family and fans of Niki Lauda as they mourn his passing.