
Niki Lauda has died - CaliforniaKarl
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/may/21/niki-lauda-formula-one-legend-dies-aged-70
======
malikolivier
Niki Lauda is the man I will always remember as the one who successfully
threatened Boeing into admitting they were at fault for a thrust reverser
issue that caused the crash of Lauda Air Flight 004, operated by his company
[1].

He had the courage to say that if Boeing does not recognize they were at
fault, he would fly a plane himself in conditions similar to the crash and see
if he could reproduce the issue.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauda_Air_Flight_004#Lauda's_v...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauda_Air_Flight_004#Lauda's_visit_with_Boeing)

~~~
Mediterraneo10
Funny that nearly the first comment on this thread dealt not with Lauda’s
Formula 1 career but his airline ventures. He really must be more widely known
for that now.

I’m not a sports fan, and I learned who Lauda is by seeing the words "Fly
Niki" plastered all over Air Berlin cabins, as Lauda’s airline established a
partnership with Air Berlin. (Of course, Air Berlin itself is now defunct.)
"Niki" seemed an odd name for an airline, which led me to Wikipedia the
company and thus discover that there was a Formula 1 star behind it.

~~~
estomagordo
I had no idea he had an airline.

~~~
mcv
Neither did I. I'm not a huge Formula 1 fan, but when I was a kid, his name
was practically synonymous with car racing.

~~~
michalstanko
For me he's synonymous with flying. First Lauda Air, then Fly Niki with Air
Berlin and now Lauda Motion with Ryanair.

~~~
mcv
I guess I'm not a big fan of flying either. His racing reached me, his
airlines didn't.

------
kerng
A true legend. Probably one of the coolest, hard working, inspiring and honest
people in recent history. The movie Rush was also pretty neat to watch, which
highlights the rivalry between Lauda and Hunt.

The best insights of races always came from Lauda, he was always very much to
the point.

His comeback after the nearly fatal crash was arguable the biggest comeback in
sports ever.

~~~
SmellyGeekBoy
I'm not a Formula 1 fan at all and was only vaguely familiar with Lauda's name
(I hadn't even heard of the other guy), but I enjoyed _Rush_ a lot. It's an
excellent movie and the fact that it's based on a true story makes it all the
more compelling.

~~~
hanley
Since you liked Rush, you should check out the documentary Senna about the
great F1 racer Ayrton Senna (widely considered the best F1 driver ever).

~~~
wcarron
Dunno about that. It's been debated endlessly; but Schumacher, I would say, is
the best ever.

Statistically, MS trounces AS, but statistics aren't everything, of course.
Senna's tragic death stole a real comparison between the two. And also, if
Schumacher had to share Ferrari with someone like Hakkinen instead of
Barichello, he'd obviously not have won as many races as he did.

In any case, it's almost impossible to actually determine who was better.

Idk, just passing time while brewing coffee. I always love an F1 discussion.

~~~
cuspycode
Hearing about Niki Lauda brings back memories of the death of the Swedish F1
racer Ronnie Peterson in 1978. I was sitting on a commuter train, and heard
whispers moving through the coach saying "Ronnie Peterson just crashed". There
were of course no mobile phones at that time, so the information came from F1
fans who were following the race while listening to their portable FM radios.

Some survive, some die.

George Harrison (of Beatles fame) later dedicated his song "Faster" to the
memory of Ronnie Peterson.

------
rmason
I well remember the battles Lauda had in the mid-seventies with James Hunt. I
thought they were bitter enemies but I was wrong. Hunt died at 45 in his bed
from a heart attack.

Niki Lauda eulogized his friend at Hunt's funeral:

He said Hunt was one of the very few people he liked, a smaller number he
respected and the only one he had envied.

~~~
CodeArtisan
Rush movie's ending scene depicts that well:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcJkVa7MsrQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcJkVa7MsrQ)

Lauda and Hunt rivalry and lifes is like a story about Stoicism vs.
Epicureanism

~~~
akuji1993
Very good movie by the way. I'm only marginally interested in Formula 1 and
thoroughly enjoyed it.

~~~
js2
Lauda even thought it was quite good.

------
sreyaNotfilc
I didn't know much about Formula 1 until I saw the movie 'Rush'. Its one of my
favorites, an had opened my eyes to a lot of things. I left the movie wanting
to be as pragmatic and brilliant as Niki Lauda (I failed). He knew what he
wanted, how to do it, and execute successfully. Admirable.

I was going to see a F1 race this year (Austin) and hoped to have met the man.
It was amazing that he was still out there with his team.

Anyway, here's my favorite scene from the movie.

"Niki Lauda meets his wife"
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kl0UBS4ZaM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kl0UBS4ZaM)

BTW everytime I heard his name I yell out "Niki Lauda Niki Lauda" like the men
in the clip.

------
cyberferret
Fond memories of watching him race in his last ever F1 race with McLaren in
Adelaide in (I think) '86\. I was seated at the end of the long Brabham
straight, and near the end of the race, Nikki's brakes gave out and he hit the
wall only a few dozen metres from me. The entire crowd gave him a standing
ovation as he got out of the car and walked back to the pits waving to
everyone.

~~~
bacro
It was 1985. In 1986 Keke Rosberg replaced him at Mclaren.

------
intruder
Niki was one of those greater than life characters, his outlook on life -
especially after his famous accident - has always been an inspiration for me.

As an F1 fan, I will also miss his candid commentary on the F1 circus.

~~~
yreg
Everyone in this thread is saying this, but I know him only as a dude who used
to be a racer and then founded an airline or two.

What's so inspiring about him?

I don't mean any disrespect.

~~~
JshWright
"A racer" undersells it a bit. He was a multiple-time world champion in what
is arguably the "premier" motorsport, including twice _after_ suffering
massive burns in a crash that should have killed him. If you made a list of
the best race car drivers in history, there's no doubt he'd be on it.

How many airlines have you founded...?

~~~
mhh__
>arguably the "premier" motorsport

s/arguably/is F1 drivers are the absolute bests of the their generation, and
Lauda was one of the best of all of them

------
Tepix
RIP.

I never met him personally, but he did play my company's formula 1 browser
game on live tv in the middle of the night and minutes later our servers were
bursting from the onslaught of people wanting to play the game. Taught me
about the power of tv advertising.

------
vermontdevil
He wanted to boycott the race at Nürburgring saying it’s too dangerous to race
there. The track is spread far for emergency personnel to quickly reach any
accident.

Ironically he crashed and the rest of the story is well-known.

One of the greats

~~~
rconti
One thing that gets me about the photo of the scene: Porsche 911 fire
extinguisher. If that's not German, I don't know what is.

[https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2018/08/NINTCHDB...](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2018/08/NINTCHDBPICT000092099039.jpg)

~~~
mhh__
The safety cars have to be able to get round then track within a reasonable
amount of time relative to the F1 cars, especially at the Nordschleife

------
Spearchucker
I had dinner with him on July 7, 2002. It was the time during which he managed
the Jaguar F1 team. He is, was quite literally awe-inspiring. Sad day.

------
choeger
This guy was one of a kind. No bullshit and balls of steel. Give it arseholes,
Niki!

------
marban
Also worth mentioning: Long before the advent of current mobility startups,
LaudaMotion was previously a Smart car rental, launched in the early '00 which
basically offered short-term rides for as low as €1/day.

------
js2
The BBC broadcast a documentary in 1996 about James Hunt’s F1 rivalry with
Lauda:

[https://youtu.be/c19DqS127Ac](https://youtu.be/c19DqS127Ac)

This rivalry was also depicted in the film Rush (2013) which Lauda stated he
was fairly pleased with.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_(2013_film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_\(2013_film\))

RIP.

------
swarnie_
Niki is going to be missed greatly around F1, what a fighter.

> Niki Lauda was given up for dead and administered the last rites by a
> priest. [1976]

What Niki said to the priest at this point is a matter for debate....

\- [https://www.formula1.com/en/drivers/hall-of-
fame/Niki_Lauda....](https://www.formula1.com/en/drivers/hall-of-
fame/Niki_Lauda.html)

------
mav3rick
True champion. Rest in peace. Inspired many.

------
mullikine
I hope they will be playing Hans' masterpiece "Lost but Won" at his funeral

------
atomical
Graham Bensinger has an interview series with Niki. It goes deep into his
life, struggles, and successes.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OyP3eLzrbI&list=PLW5qT4HIAd...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OyP3eLzrbI&list=PLW5qT4HIAd1a2dkXKmLcNtJ0u048nfUY-)

------
jdhawk
MB 1/2 in his honor at Monaco...not that its much of a stretch.

~~~
JshWright
To be fair, it's historically not a great circuit for them (they were scary
fast in sector 3 at Barcelona though... so that doesn't bode well for
Ferrari/RB)

~~~
mhh__
They won it four times in a row recently, and they have the best car in low
speed corners this season.

Ferrari, on the other hand, could be having to fight with Haas at this rate.
However, the only projections I've seen used S3 data from before the testing
day and Ferrari apparently have new suspension (Which is very important around
monaco)

------
turbinerneiter
I find it profoundly interesting to read these comments and no see a single
mention of the not-so-awesome parts about him.

~~~
sbarre
The man just died.

No one is perfect, but let's celebrate his life for now, shall we?

If you have a bone to pick, come back later?

