Who saved Niki Lauda’s life?
Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards, and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later. Merzario was able to pull him from his car after releasing the belt. By the time he was released; Lauda had suffered severe burns to his head, face and hands. 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.
Did Niki Lauda survive?
You just fight with your brain’: How F1 driver Niki Lauda survived a devastating Grand Prix crash. The F1 champion Niki Lauda had a horrifying accident in Germany in August 1976, 49 years ago this week. He was not expected to live, let alone race again. While driving the Wolf during 1976’s German GP at the Nurburgring, Niki Lauda crashed his Ferrari at high speed, with the car bursting into flames, and Brett Lunger, Harald Ertl. Arturo and Guy Edwards all helped to rescue him from the fire.
Why did Niki leave Ferrari?
Even Enzo Ferrari had doubts and made plans to replace him, a reaction that angered Niki and made his winning the 1977 driving title a form of revenge. Having clinched the championship with two races remaining, Niki decided to skip them and told Ferrari he was leaving. Ferrari and Laura remained married until her death in 1978. John Nikas, writer and expert on the history of cars who founded the British Sports Car Hall of Fame, said of Ferrari, His real loves in life were racing and Dino. Enzo had a second son, Piero, with his mistress Lina Lardi in 1945.