RIP Niki Lauda!!!

The former Formula 1 racer and a 3 time world champion, Niki Lauda has passed away @ the age of 70.

I would say, media has played a critical role in spreading the fame of sports and sports persons through various biographical movies. Yes! Rush is one such movie, through which many, like me would have come to know about JAMES HUNT and NIKI LAUDA. The movie is all about the 2 extremely skilled Formula 1 racers and the intense rivalry between them. However, I personally adore Niki, as he had the capability to handle both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, much bravely. The main intention of this blog is to wish for eternal peace for the soul of the departed and throw some light to the deeds of the champion.

Niki has won the F1 title for three times and was hugely admired by the crowd. While James hunt has his own fans crowd, who go with his speeding skills and his typical F1 looks, Niki lauda has his own admirers who always respected him for his brave decisions during his remarkable career. The most unique thing about him is that he is the only one who has been a champion, for both the giants, FERRARI and McLAUREN. People who are not much fond of F1 might not even notice him if he drives on road as he was so disciplined and simple. I feel, this particular character of him was very well narrated in the movie. There is a scene where Niki will be taking a few women for a drive. While, he was introducing himself as a F1 racer, not even one was believing as his driving never crossed the limits. When a woman says F1 drivers are always so stylish, glamourous and they never drive a car so slow, he would give an explanation with all the risks that would happen due to high speed and how much strain it would cause to the engine with all the minor details. He also mentions, how important it is for a sportsman to be disciplined.

Though, Niki’s achievements are to be cherished, we also need to know that there are so many crisis he has gone through. The major catastrophe in his life would be the crash during the German Grand Prix. Even though, Lauda was the fastest on the circuit during that time, he urged all his racers to cancel the race due to heavy rainfall which was blatantly dangerous. Unfortunately, most of the racers were against his suggestion and the race went ahead, during which he involved with a critical fire accident. By the time he was rescued, he suffered severe burns in his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood.He suffered extensive scarring due to the burns, lost most of his ear and hair on one side, his eyebrows and eyelids. He also underwent a lung transplantation. The most astounding thing is Ferrari announced Lauda’s replacement even before he was out for his treatment from such a grave accident. While he was treated for his injuries, he watches Hunt winning the races in his absence which increases the pain in his heart more than his medical condition. Despite the situation, he decides to race and he also won the championship. Later on, Lauda takes interest in flying private planes and focus on entrepreneurship.

May the legend’s soul Rest In Peace !!!