What was the cause of the Lauda crash?
In the race’s second lap, Lauda lost control of his car and slammed into an embankment. The car burst into flames, and Lauda was pulled from the wreckage, having inhaled noxious gasses. He thought racing at the Japanese Grand Prix in a rainstorm with water all over the track was sheer suicide and foolishness.Lauda had been well in front until he was nearly killed in a fiery accident at the Nurburgring. James won that race and five others to force a championship showdown with the miraculously recovered Lauda in the last race of the season.
What caused Lauda’s crash?
On 1 August 1976, during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames, and made contact with Brett Lunger’s Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Lauda would go on to Brabham, after which Enzo called him a traitor. He retired afterwards, but would return to McLaren to win his third F1 title before retiring for good.In 1977, Lauda stayed on with Ferrari, but his relationship with the management and their new driver Carlos Reutemann became fractious, and although Niki bagged his second world championship, it was time for him to move on.Fellow driver Guy Edwards managed to avoid the blazing wreckage but Harald Ertl and Brett Lunger both hit it. All three drivers raced to the burning Ferrari and, with the help of the Italian driver Arturo Merzario, who also stopped, eventually managed to pull 27-year-old Lauda from his vehicle.The following year, after Enzo tried but failed to make Carlos Reutemann the team’s number one driver, Lauda gifted the Scuderia another F1 title, but his relationship with Enzo was soured. How could the old man have held a grudge when Lauda risked everything and came so close to losing his place on Earth?
Does Niki Lauda have an airline?
The airline was founded in 2004 as Amira Air by investor Ronny Pecik as a provider of charter flights for executive travel, serving European and international destinations. In 2016, Niki Lauda took over Amira Air and renamed the company LaudaMotion. The original Lauda Air ceased 2013. In 2018, after Niki Lauda’s other airline, Niki, ceased, Niki Lauda founded a new airline, Laudamotion. That ended up being bought by Ryanair, and now it’s a Ryanair subsidiary, Lauda Europe, with practically no relation to Lauda himself, or the previous airlines.
Did Niki Lauda ever recover?
On September 12, 1976, a mere six weeks after his life-threatening accident, Lauda made his comeback at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. His appearance alone was a testament to his extraordinary willpower. Lauda’s face was still heavily bandaged, and he wore a specially modified helmet to protect his healing wounds. The helmet Niki Lauda wore during the tragic 1976 crash at the Nürburgring is not only a piece of history, but a true symbol of strength and resilience. This helmet, damaged by flames and subsequently stolen for 37 years, has finally been returned to motorsport history.