Niki Lauda and I raced both alongside and against one another and remained friends until his death. His qualities, abilities and achievements are rightly admired, as were the clarity of his thinking and pragmatism. He was an intelligent man, a street-fighter, a three-times world champion and his comeback after the accident at the Nürburgring stands as the most courageous act I’ve seen any sportsperson ever make.
We met in the Formula Two championship in 1971, when Niki had joined the March team. He had the famous Niki Lauda hat – a baseball cap with the name of the bank on it – and rocked up in a Porsche 911-S with a stunning girlfriend, immediately making his mark.
Written by John Watson
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/may/21/niki-lauda-f1-motor-racing under the title “My friend Niki Lauda was a street-fighter and a shining talent in F1 | John Watson”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
