Three-time Formula One world champion Niki Lauda, who won two of his titles after a horrific crash that left him with serious burns and went on to become a prominent figure in the aviation industry, has died. He was 70.
The Austria Press Agency quoted Lauda’s family as saying he “passed away peacefully” on Monday.
Lauda won the F1 drivers’ championship in 1975 and 1977 with Ferrari and again in 1984 with McLaren.
In 1976, he was badly burned when he crashed during the German Grand Prix, but he made an astonishingly fast return to racing just six weeks later.
Lauda remained closely involved with the F1 circuit after retiring as a driver in 1985, and in recent years served as the non-executive chairman of the Mercedes team.
Lauda financed his early career with the help of a string of loans, working his way through the ranks of Formula 3 and Formula 2.
Lauda joined Ferrari in 1974, winning a Grand Prix for the first time that year in Spain.
He won his first drivers’ title with five victories the following season.
Facing tough competition from McLaren’s James Hunt – their rivalry featured in the Ron Howard-directed movie Rush – Lauda appeared on course to defend his title in 1976 when he crashed at the Nuerburgring during the German Grand Prix.
Lauda made his comeback just six weeks after the crash, finishing fourth at Monza after overcoming his initial fears.
He won his second championship in 1977 before switching to Brabham and then retiring in 1979 to concentrate on setting up his airline, Lauda Air.
Lauda came out of retirement in 1982 after a big-money offer from McLaren, reportedly about $US3 million ($A4.3 million) a year.
He finished fifth his first year back and 10th in 1983, but came back to win five races and edge teammate Alain Prost for his third title in 1984.
He retired for good the following year, saying he needed more time to devote to his airline business.
Initially a charter airline, Lauda Air expanded in the 1980s to offer flights to Australia and Asia.
In 1997, longtime rival Austrian Airlines took a minority stake and in 2000, with the company making losses, Lauda resigned as board chairman.
He founded a new airline, Niki, in 2003. Germany’s Air Berlin took a minority stake and later full control of that airline, which Lauda bought back in early 2018.
He partnered with budget carrier Ryanair on Niki’s successor, LaudaMotion.
Lauda in later years formed a close bond with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.
Lauda twice underwent kidney transplants, receiving an organ donated by his brother in 1997 and, when that stopped functioning well, a kidney donated by his girlfriend in 2005.
In August 2018, he underwent a lung transplant that the Vienna General Hospital said was made necessary by a “serious lung illness”.
Lauda is survived by his second wife, Birgit, and their twin children Max and Mia. He had two adult sons, Lukas and Mathias, from his first marriage.