Three-time Formula One world champion Niki Lauda has died at the age of 70.
The Austrian racing great “passed away peacefully”, his family said on Monday in a statement reported by the Austria Press Agency.
His comeback from a near-fatal crash made him a global symbol of resilience and determination.
Lauda was so badly injured in the accident at the 1976 German Grand Prix that a priest gave him the last rites as he lay in a coma.
His Ferrari had slammed into a barrier and then burst into flames as it spun back onto the track, where an oncoming car hit it again. By the time he was pulled from the wreckage, his face, scalp and right ear were severely burned and his lungs scorched.
“His unique successes as a sportsman and entrepreneur are and remain unforgettable”
Just six weeks later, his burns bandaged and raw, he was racing again, vying to retain his Formula One world title. It remains one of the sport’s most memorable acts of courage and defiance.
“It was the most terrifying weekend,” he told Reuters in 2013, in a late admission about how scared he was to race so soon after cheating death. He finished fourth that day.
Tributes poured in for Lauda, who later become a racing team executive and airline entrepreneur.
British racing driver Jenson Button called him a “legend”.
His family added in their statement: “His unique successes as a sportsman and entrepreneur are and remain unforgettable.
“His tireless drive, his straightforwardness and his courage remain an example and standard for us all. Away from the public gaze, he was a loving and caring husband, father and grandfather. We will miss him very much.”
Lauda was also mourned by F1, who tweeted: “Forever carried in our hearts, forever immortalised in our history.
“The motorsport community today mourns the devastating loss of a true legend.”
The McLaren Formula One team said: “All at McLaren are deeply saddened to learn that our friend, colleague and 1984 Formula 1 World Champion, Niki Lauda, has passed away.
“Niki will forever be in our hearts and enshrined in our history.”
Apart from reconstructive work on his eyes and eyelids he opted against cosmetic surgery on the burns that disfigured him. Instead he covered much of them with a baseball cap that became his trademark, charging sponsors to put their logo on it.
“Sure, people change their tits and ass and whatever. In my case there could be something done but I wouldn’t. Because this is a fact of life and that’s it,” he said.
Over the past few decades, Lauda twice underwent kidney transplants, receiving an organ donated by his brother in 1997 and a kidney donated by his girlfriend in 2005.
In August last year, he underwent a lung transplant that the Vienna General Hospital said was made necessary by a “serious lung illness.”
He was released for rehabilitation nearly four months later but was back in hospital in January with influenza.
The doctor that performed the transplant, Walter Klepetko, confirmed his death early on Tuesday morning, the Associated Press reported.
Born to a wealthy Vienna family, he defied its wishes to pursue a racing career.
Lauda’s grandfather, who was on the supervisory board of an Austrian bank, even blocked his own firm’s sponsorship deal with his grandson. The family rebel took out loans to fund his early years.
Lauda is survived by his second wife Birgit, and his children, Max, Mia, Mathias, Lukas and Christoph.