The character arc of Niki Lauda
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 22 February 1949 in Vienna, the grandson of an industrialist who did not want him racing. Between then and his death sit a 30,000 pound bank loan taken out to buy himself a drive, a Formula One debut in 1971, a first world championship with Ferrari in 1975, a fire at the Nurburgring on 1 August 1976 and the last rites in hospital, a return to the track six weeks later, a title lost by one point, a second championship in 1977, a walkout from the sport in 1979, a comeback in 1982, a third title by half a point in 1984, three airlines, and six constructors championships with Mercedes. The line below draws the whole story.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who was Niki Lauda?
They gave him the last rites. Six weeks later he was racing.
He was born into a wealthy Viennese family that did not approve, so he bought his way in himself. After his career stalled he took out a bank loan of thirty thousand pounds and used it to secure a Formula Two seat with March in 1971, making his Formula One debut at the Austrian Grand Prix the same year. BRM in 1973, then Ferrari in 1974, where he was on the podium in his first race for them and won three races later. In 1975 he won five Grands Prix and his first world championship, the first Ferrari-powered champion in eleven years, and became the first driver to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes.
On 1 August 1976, leading the championship, his Ferrari left the track at the Nurburgring, hit an embankment and caught fire with him trapped in it. Four other drivers stopped and got him out. He was burned badly, he had inhaled hot gases that damaged his lungs, and in hospital, having lapsed into a coma, he was given the last rites.
He missed two races. He appeared at the Monza press conference six weeks after the accident with the burns still bandaged, and finished fourth in the Italian Grand Prix, by his own admission absolutely petrified. A journalist remembers watching him peel blood-soaked bandages off his scalp in the pits. He lost the championship to James Hunt by a single point, and the two of them were friends away from the track.
He won it back in 1977 with Ferrari, then left for Brabham. And in late 1979, during practice in Canada, he simply stopped: he told the team boss he wanted to retire immediately, because he had no more desire to continue the silliness of driving around in circles. He went back to Austria to run the charter airline he had founded.
He came back with McLaren in 1982, and in 1984, partnered with Alain Prost, won a third world championship by half a point, the smallest margin there has ever been. Seven years separated his second title from his third, which is still the longest gap in the sport history. He retired after 1985 with 25 wins, 24 poles and 54 podiums, and remains the only driver to have taken the title with both Ferrari and McLaren. He founded and ran three airlines, held an airline transport pilot licence and sometimes flew his own aircraft as captain, advised Ferrari, ran Jaguar, and from 2012 until his death was non-executive chairman and co-owner of Mercedes, winning six consecutive constructors championships with them.
The moments
Niki Lauda's timeline.
The 1940s
Born in Vienna
Everyday. Vienna, into money that did not want a racing driver.
The 1970s
A thirty thousand pound loan
Milestone, and it changed everything. He borrowed the money and bought himself a seat.
First win, for Ferrari
Milestone, and it changed everything. Podium first time out, winner three races later.
World champion
Milestone, and it changed everything. A first title, and the first sub seven minute Nordschleife lap.
The fire at the Nurburgring
Setback, and it changed everything. Four other drivers stopped and got him out.
The last rites
Setback, and it changed everything. A priest was called.
Sit out the season, or race
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: get in the car at Monza, taken, or take the season off. He lost the title by a single point, and then won it back the following season.
Monza, six weeks later
Milestone, and it changed everything. By his own admission, absolutely petrified.
One point
Setback, and it changed everything. One point, to a man he liked.
A second championship
Milestone, and it changed everything. The year after the fire, he won it.
He walks out
Milestone, and it changed everything. He got out of the car mid-session and said that was that.
The 1980s
Back, with McLaren
Milestone, and it changed everything. Three years away, and he came back and won.
A third title, by half a point
Milestone, and it changed everything. Half a point, from eleventh on the grid.
He retires for good
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Twenty five wins, and the only man to do it with both teams.
The airlines
Milestone, and it changed everything. Three airlines, and he sometimes flew them himself.
The 2010s
Chairman at Mercedes
Milestone, and it changed everything. Six constructors championships in a row, from the boardroom.
He dies at seventy
Setback, and it changed everything. Forty three years after the last rites.
He spent the second half of his life running airlines and then a Formula One team that won six championships in a row. What he set moving is a single sentence he said about Monza: that he was absolutely petrified, and he got in anyway, which is a much more useful thing to be told than that he was brave.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His turned on a bank loan he had no business taking, and again on a decision made six weeks after a fire. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Niki Lauda: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
What is Niki Lauda's character arc?
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What did Niki Lauda do after racing?
Where does this timeline of Niki Lauda's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with his.
Sources
- Niki Lauda, English Wikipedia biography.
- His BBC Radio 5 Live interview about the crash, as quoted there.
- His Formula One record, as that biography sets it out.
- Nigel Roebuck recollection of the Monza pits, as quoted there.