Hunt won on three occasions that year but the Lauda and Ferrari combination proved too strong, Hunt and McLaren managing just fifth and third in the respective championships.

Piquet's win over the McLaren-TAGs of Niki Lauda and Alain Prost proved that when the Brabham's BMW turbo engine held together the car had the speed to beat the McLarens.

The race also proved to be the 34th and last Dutch Grand Prix and the 25th and last Grand Prix victory for triple ( and defending ) World Champion Niki Lauda.

By winning races when Prost ran into trouble and scoring relentlessly when Prost proved quicker, Lauda was just able to win the title.

was a less successful year for the team: Fittipaldi was second in the championship behind Niki Lauda.

In Lauda was again strong in his Ferrari ; at mid season he led the championship with 56 points whilst Hunt had only 26 despite wins in Spain ( a race from which he was initially disqualified ) and France.

But at the German Grand Prix Lauda crashed heavily, was nearly killed and missed the next two races.

Lauda was saved by the combined actions of fellow drivers Arturo Merzario, Guy Edwards, Brett Lunger, and Harald Ertl, rather than by the ill-equipped track marshals.

Lauda was born in Vienna, Austria, to a wealthy family.

His paternal grandfather was the Viennese-born businessman Hans Lauda.

After starting out with a Mini, Lauda moved on into Formula Vee, as was normal in Central Europe, but rapidly moved up to drive in private Porsche and Chevron sports cars.

Although the F2 cars were good ( and Lauda's test-driving skills impressed March principal Robin Herd ), March's 1972 F1 season was catastrophic and Lauda, in despair and deep debt, briefly contemplated suicide but finally took out yet another bank loan to buy his way into the BRM team in 1973.

Lauda was instantly quick but the team was in decline ; his big break came when his BRM team-mate Clay Regazzoni rejoined Ferrari in 1974 and team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda.

The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his début race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix.

A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, ( even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time ) Lauda tried to boycott the race, largely due to the 23 kilometer circuit's safety arrangements.

As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, the foam had compressed and it had slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire.

Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma.

Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after 2 laps, stating that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts.

Lauda disliked his new teammate, Carlos Reutemann, who already was used as his replacement driver while he was out of contest.

Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari.

Lauda returned to race only six weeks ( two races ) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged.

Needing money to shore up his new business, in 1982 Lauda returned to racing, feeling that he still had a career in Formula One.

Lauda, who started 8th, finished 2nd to boost his championship hopes while Prost had to deal with a minor misfire in his TAG engine for the race but still finished 3rd.

The point-scoring drivers won a total of 13 world championships between them, and the three drivers on the podium were all ( at least ) triple World Champions from different eras-Niki Lauda, approaching the end of his long and distinguished F1 career, Alain Prost, enjoying the best years of his career, and Ayrton Senna, still at the dawn of his.

McLaren's defending World Champion Niki Lauda was still unfit to race due to the wrist injury he suffered in Belgium and was replaced by former driver John Watson in what would be his last start in Formula One.

The race was quite uneventful, and Andretti went to take victory, with Peterson completing another Lotus 1-2 leaving Lauda to take third.

Stuck was quite successful at Brabham-Alfa in 1977, leading the 1977 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in the rain, but was replaced by Niki Lauda for 1978.

She had also donated a kidney to Lauda when the kidney he received in a transplant from his brother years earlier failed.

Carlos Reutemann was hired as a replacement, so with Clay Regazzoni driving the other car, Ferrari had to run three cars in the 1976 Italian Grand Prix when Lauda returned unexpectedly soon ( only six weeks after his accident ).

When Lauda came in on lap 38, the crew discovered the offending shock absorber ; when the Austrian also learned of his countryman's death, he gave up the chase.

Brambilla took the lead until lap six when he was passed by Lauda.

The Italian supporters were gathered in expectation of Ferrari gaining their first championship in 11 years-on home ground, with many Austrians travelling over the border to support Niki Lauda and were delighted when Ferrari filled both spaces on the front row.

As a consequence of the race, Lauda extended his lead in the World Drivers ' Championship to 36 points over his team mate Clay Regazzoni who had retired after starting second, going off track on oil laid down when James Hunt retired, climbing back to third before crashing.

The order stayed put until the seventh lap when Lauda took the lead and was never passed again, with Scheckter taking second from Hunt 11 laps later.

Watson ran second to Scheckter until mid-race when he had to retire with gearbox trouble, allowing Lauda to close in on Scheckter but the latter was flawless and held on to take his second win of the season.

Hunt dropped back with brake troubles as the race progressed, and Scheckter retired when his engine failed, leaving Reutemann and Niki Lauda in second and third.

Lauda was soon past Reutemann, and the latter had to retire when he spun off on oil on the track left by the car of debutant Bruno Giacomelli, handing third to Alan Jones.

Reutemann ran third for a while, but then began to drop down the order, and so reigning world champion Niki Lauda took third in his Brabham, which became second with ten laps left when Watson's engine blew up.

Niki Lauda finished third on the road, but was disqualified when his car was found to be underweight in post-race scrutineering.

Lauda was leading by some 40 seconds on lap 34 when the wires to his McLaren's battery came loose causing electrical faulure.

After Passing Warwick for the lead, Prost, who was in the pits for a tyre change when Lauda coasted in to retire, lost the lead back to the Englishman when he made his second stop for tyres.

With the rain soaking the track, Niki Lauda sought out Bernie Ecclestone on the grid in a bid to have the Tunnel flooded as well ( the Tunnel was dry but coated with oil from the previous days use which Lauda explained had turned it into a 5th gear skid pad when the cars came racing in carrying the spry from their tyres ).

Niki Lauda needed 2nd place to secure the title, and gained this when Nigel Mansell spun out with 18 laps to go.

A now relaxed Lauda gave his home fans something to cheer about when he qualified a season high 3rd.