Niki Lauda died five years ago

Five years ago, on May 20, 2019, Niki Lauda’s family announced that he had left this world after a long illness. We have collected in this material several memories of what it was like…

Bernie Ecclestone: “Nicky was a wonderful person. After that accident, he returned to racing, even though he shouldn’t have. But he went to the start and won the title.

Nicky was special. He knew what to say and when to say it. He was a great racer. Nicky is one of those people who always knew when to squeeze the most out of a car and get the most out of it. He was respected and listened to.

Nicky loved Formula 1. Even when he was in hospital, he wanted to start flying again and come to some races.”

Luca di Montezemolo: “We were friends for fifty years and shared the best moments of our lives. We won a lot of races, two championship titles, and the third one was just a little short.

Niki Lauda was a distinctive personality and a very smart driver. He understood when to attack and when to take care of the car. Good relationships with engineers and mechanics were important to him, which allowed him to get much more out of the car.

Who else would have the courage to get back behind the wheel in Monza a few weeks after the Nürburgring fire? When he took off his helmet, the wounds started to bleed again. But he didn’t think about it at all. His departure from Ferrari has never disturbed our friendship. Even when we faced each other later.”

Sebastian Vettel: “I was lucky to know Nicky. When I drove for Red Bull Racing, Nicky was a permanent fixture in our team and he spoke a lot with Helmut Marko. Nicky talked about the characteristics of the cars, how racing influenced his life and what Enzo Ferrari was really like. You cannot learn this from books, this is information from the original source.

Nicky has always been herself. Many people try to portray a certain image in front of television cameras, but Lauda was not like that. He was always sincere, true to his word, always on the side of truth. Nicky was a real racing driver who was in love with our sport. I had a lot of respect for him.”

Toto Wolff: “What did I learn from Niki? Never give up. Don’t make excuses, reach your goal! Nicky never complained. Even when he was in pain and struggling. I was always impressed by his ability to deal with the challenges life threw at him.

Our friendship grew stronger over the years, we were different and learned from each other. I miss my friend, conversation partner, opponent very much. He was always there when things were hard for me. Nicky inspired me every day – with his invulnerability, flexibility and ability to revive.

Despite all the differences, we had a lot in common. I’m one of those people who never looks back. I’m not interested in yesterday’s results. And he treated it the same way. We lived for today and tomorrow.”

Lewis Hamilton: “We all miss Niki very much. I think about him every day. It’s hard for me to talk about him in the past tense. This was a person very close to me. We have experienced many incredible moments.

I remember our first conversations. This was in 2012. One day I had just gotten home when Nicky called and started convincing me to move to Mercedes. I remember how excited I was that the world champion, the legendary Niki Lauda himself, called me at home.

Afterwards we discussed this matter more than once, but the negotiations were still at an early stage and then the then head of the Mercedes team, Ross Brawn, came to me. I couldn’t believe he was in the kitchen of my mother’s house.

When Lauda came to my hotel room in Singapore and we had the climactic conversation, something clicked in me. I suddenly noticed that we look at many things in life and racing in the same way. We have had a great relationship ever since.

We traveled together, I visited him in Ibiza. He was positive, artistic and with a great sense of humor. He knew many stories. And what a racer he was! Always strive for excellence.

To thank him for his good performance, Nicky took off his famous cap. And you realized that you were really good. He is not one to give compliments. If Lauda took off his cap, you did well.

Even after the win he asked, “Lewis, what do you need to get better?” He was always looking for opportunities to achieve more. Of all the lessons I learned from him, this was the most important: it is not enough for a driver to just work hard, he must lead his team, ask the right questions and always push himself and his people to be the best they can be. to give.

It’s like you’re working out. You do ten push-ups and on the ninth you realize you can’t do any more. This means that you have to find the strength within yourself and your body to do 12 or 13 push-ups. The same goes for working with people. You can always achieve something more. Nicky has taught me a lot about relationships with people and I like knowing that I use his lessons every day.

I will never forget that it was Nicky who brought me to Mercedes and convinced me that great successes lay ahead. I was welcomed with open arms and we all grew up together. Nicky was the man who gave me my freedom, because he believed that people are only capable of more if they can be themselves.

It is a great honor for me to spend so much time of my life with Niki Lauda. I cherish these memories. I am very grateful to Nicky for everything he has done for me. He will always live on in my heart. And I know he is always with us when we go to the track.”