Niki Lauda Biography: Andreas Nikolaus “Niki” Lauda was a Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur from Austria.
Niki Lauda Biography
Niki Lauda Biography: Andreas Nikolaus Lauda was born in Vienna, Austria, on February 22, 1949. His paternal grandfather, entrepreneur Hans Lauda, co-founded the Federation of Austrian Industries in the 1940s, and he was born into an influential paper manufacturing family. Niki’s family disapproved of him pursuing a career in auto racing, and Lauda finally severed touch with them. He began racing in the late 1960s, initially in a Mini, then in Formula Vee, then in private Chevrons and Porsches.
Niki Lauda Wiki
| Name | Andreas Nikolaus Lauda |
| Date Of Birth | February 22, 1949 |
| Birth Place | Vienna, Austria |
| Height | 5ft 9inch |
| Weight | N/A |
| Zodiac Sign | Pisces |
| Profession | Racing Driver |
| Net Worth | $210 Million |
| Car Collection | N/A |
Niki Lauda Personal Life
Niki married Marlene Knaus in 1976, and they had two boys, Lukas (born 1979) and Mathias (born 1981), before splitting up in 1991. Mathias took after his father and became a race car driver, while Lukas supervised his brother’s career. Lauda married Birgit Wetzinger, a flight attendant for his company, in 2008. In 2009, the couple welcomed twins Mia and Max, and Niki had a son named Christoph (born in 1982) with an ex-girlfriend. Lauda received a kidney transplant from his brother, Florian, in 1997. Birgit gave a kidney in 2005 after the kidney he received from Florian failed. Niki had a lung transplant in 2018.
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Niki Lauda Net worth
According to multiple internet resources (Wikipedia, Forbes, and IMDB), Niki Lauda has an estimated net worth of roughly $210 million.
Niki Lauda Career
Lauda took a bank loan in 1971 to purchase his way onto the Formula Two circuit and was quickly promoted to the Formula1 team. In 1973, he borrowed money from the bank again to join the British Racing Motors (BRM) team. When Niki competed in the Monaco Grand Prix that year, Enzo Ferrari noticed him and hired him to the Ferrari team in 1974. Lauda finished 2nd in his first race for Ferrari, the Grand Prix of Argentina, and he also won the Grand Prix of Spain that same year. In 1975, he won four races with the new Ferrari 312T, placed third in the Italian Grand Prix, and then won the United States Grand Prix.
Niki won four of the first six events of the 1976 season and placed second in two. Two months after the race, he was declared the winner of the British Grand Prix after the Ferrari team challenged James Hunt’s victory, and Hunt was consequently disqualified. During the 1976 German Grand Prix, Lauda’s car drifted off the racecourse, hit a barrier, and caught fire. Before being rescued by fellow driver Arturo Merzario, Niki’s head was severely burned, & his lungs and blood were damaged by Lauda’s inhalation of hot toxic gases. Niki was conscious immediately following the accident but fell into a coma while transported to the hospital. Lauda miraculously survived his injuries, and after his recovery, he began to cover up the extensive scarring on his head by wearing a red cap. Six weeks after the terrifying accident, he returned to racing and finished fourth at the Italian Grand Prix.
During the Japanese Grand Prix, Niki withdrew after two laps, claiming he did not feel safe driving in the torrential rain, negatively impacting his relationship with Ferrari. During the 1977 season, he left the Ferrari squad and joined the Brabham-Alfa Romeo team in 1978. Lauda announced his retirement during practice for the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, blaming his lack of interest in continuing “the silliness of driving in circles.” In 1982 he retired to join the McLaren team after being promised a $3 million salary.
Niki won the Grand Prix of Long Beach in 1982 and the Grand Prix of Monaco in 1984 before breaking his right arm during the 1985 Belgian Grand Prix practice. After the 1985 racing season, Niki retired for good. After his retirement, he assumed non-racing positions with some Formula One team, including a consulting role with the Ferrari team in 1993 & a non-executive chairman role with the Mercedes AMG Petronas team in 2012. Lauda was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993, & in 2005, the Austrian post office issued a stamp in his honor. The 2008 ESPN.com list of the best 25 drivers ever ranked Niki 22nd.
