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.

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.

“ We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team .” Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left early due to the team's decision to run the then unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Villeneuve's arrival was prompted by Ferrari driver Niki Lauda quitting the team at the 1977 Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport having already clinched his second championship with the Italian team.

Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, John Surtees, Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter, Michael Schumacher and Kimi Räikkönen have all won drivers world championships driving for the team.

In 1977 Lauda, having come back from his near fatal crash the previous year, took the title again for Ferrari ( and the team won the Constructors ' Championship ), overcoming his more fancied, and favoured, team mate Reutemann.

Championships were clinched by the Brabham team in 1966, Jochen Rindt ( posthumously ) and Lotus in 1970, Lotus in 1973, Emerson Fittipaldi and McLaren in 1974, Niki Lauda and Ferrari in 1976, and Lauda in 1977.

Niki Lauda persuaded Ferrari to bring Berger back to the Italian team in 1993 as Lauda felt Berger brought valuable experience with him from his partnership with Senna.

With the McLarens of Prost and Niki Lauda dominating 1984, Arnoux had a less successful second season at Ferrari, only finishing 6th with 27 points, with his new teammate Michele Alboreto progressively taking the initiative and team leadership from him.

The campaign was generally chaotic: having acquired major sponsorship, Louis Stanley originally planned to field up to six cars ( three for established drivers, three for paying journeymen and young drivers ) of varying designs including P153s, P160s and P180s and actually ran up to five for a mix of paying and paid drivers until it became obvious that it was completely overstretched — the team's sponsors insisted that the team should cut back to a more reasonable level and only three cars were run in 1973 for Beltoise, Lauda and Regazzoni.

At the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, he replaced Niki Lauda at Brabham after the Austrian abruptly quit the team and Formula One.

Former points leader Lauda dropped to third, six points behind his Ferrari team mate and just one ahead of Fittipaldi.

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.

In September, two months after the event, the Ferrari team successfully protested against Hunt's participation in the race, and he was disqualified, giving Niki Lauda the race win.

The prelude to the race was notable for a strike action by the Grand Prix Drivers ' Association, led by Niki Lauda and Didier Pironi, in protest at the new superlicense conditions imposed by FISA, which would have tied the drivers to a single team for up to three years.

Prost assumed the lead again, now from team mate Lauda who disposed of Arnoux, but had Ayrton Senna, who had also passed the Ferrari, quickly closing in.

1985 was a poor season for Lauda, with eleven retirements from the fourteen races he started, he did not start the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps after crashing and breaking his wrist during practice, he also later missed the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch ; John Watson replaced him for that race.

# Lauda anima mea Dominum ;

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.

Lauda was fastest at the start, while Pryce had a slow start and was passed by Jarier ; the Frenchman soon attempted to pass Lauda in an ill-advised overtaking manoeuvre, and hit the barriers at the Mirabeau ; his car was damaged in the collision and handled badly, which caused him to hit the wall again at the chicane and then retire.

Lauda had suffered serious burns and was rushed by helicopter to the Bundeswehr hospital in Koblenz ; from there he was flown to the Trauma Clinic in Ludwigshafen, home to Germany's most advanced burn ward at the time, where he fought for his life for the next few days.

That was how it stayed to the end ; Lauda winning from Scheckter and Stuck.

The race finished in that order ; with Andretti taking a dominant victory from Lauda, who closed in on the championship, and Jones who took his second podium in three races.

At the start Andretti retained the first place, while Lauda got ahead of Watson ; on the second lap he was passed by a fast Riccardo Patrese in the Arrows, and on the third he was passed by the other Lotus of Ronnie Peterson too ; the Swede also passed Patrese, but had later to back off due to a tyre puncture.

Lauda went on to win by 34. 6 seconds, followed by Patrese and Peterson in a close finish ; the remaining points went to Patrick Tambay, Clay Regazzoni and Emerson Fittipaldi.

The crowds for the Austrian GP were full of Niki Lauda fans ; but however for them Lauda qualified only 12th as the Lotus cars again took the front row, with Ronnie Peterson on pole.

Andretti, Hunt, Lauda, Carlos Reutemann and Emerson Fittipaldi all went to the spot where Scheckter crashed and upon inspection of the state of the barrier, they refused to start until it was repaired ; upon which it was, causing more delay.

Patrese's gearbox dropped oil onto the track which took off Niki Lauda and nearly took off Teo Fabi and race leader Michele Alboreto ; Alboreto's off handed the lead to Alain Prost.

Prost's teammate Niki Lauda also put up a notable drive ; he started 10th ; dropped to 15th at the start, and by the time he retired with an alternator failure he was up to 3rd.

It was also the first time in nine years the German GP was held at Nürburgring ; previously the German GP was held on the dangerous and very long Nordschleife section of the track up until 1976, and at that race Niki Lauda had a near-fatal accident in his Ferrari that forced the Formula One circus to move to the safer, shorter and faster Hockenheimring.

Scheckter maintained a consistent cushion over the battle for second ; after 25 laps, Andretti was 2. 5 seconds behind and Lauda was 4 seconds back.

He is also winner of the prizes for fashion television journalism of British Airways ( 1996 ) and Lauda Air ( 1997 ), Sofia ; award for objective journalism by IMRO ( 2002 ), etc.