Arturo Merzario is one of those who saved Niki Lauda

Every driver who has raced in Formula 1 has something to remember, regardless of the period in which he competed in the world championship. And if this happened in the 70s of the last century, then even more so. But in the life of Arturo Merzario, who celebrated his 80th birthday in 2023, there was an episode that made him go down in history, but it is precisely this that the Italian racer does not like to remember.

On August 1, 1976, he was one of the first on the scene of Niki Lauda’s infamous crash on the Nürburgring Nordschleife and, together with three other drivers, rescued the Austrian from a car that was bursting into flames.

During an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, he was asked about that episode of the biography, but Merzario replied: “I prefer not to remember. I would say it was just one of those episodes in my life that ended well for both me and Niki. Let him stay that way.

I have no regrets about what happened to me during my career in motorsport, except for a few mistakes, but everyone makes them. The most important thing is that I can still talk about them after all these years. I think I was a lucky racer. In those days, any accident could easily result in serious injury or death.”

Merzario did not win in Formula 1, he was never even on the podium, although he competed for teams such as Ferrari and Williams.

“Before I started working with Frank Williams, I worked for a team from Maranello,” he recalls. – Ferrari had great engineers at the time! And only then I moved to Williams and became one of the first thanks to whom this team earned its reputation in Formula 1. Then I rode for Copersucar and March.

But it is impossible to make a comparison between Williams and Ferrari. Whether someone likes it or not, Scuderia is and remains a kind of standard. “Ferrari is still the number 1 brand in the automotive world, so let’s be clear: this team will always be special.”

But there was one special day in Arturo Mercirio’s career that was forever etched in his memory: “There are some things we will not forget. I had already won the Italian and European GT Championships, but my greatest fame came from winning the Mugello endurance race on July 20, 1969, the same day Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon.

This was a special victory, because I rode the entire 720 km of the distance alone and still managed to win. After that I was recognized all over the world.”