Family, fans and friends gathered in Vienna for Austrian F1 star Niki Lauda's memorial. After the service, Lauda was buried wearing his race overalls. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gerhard Berger gave eulogies.
Image: Reuters/L. Niesner
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Motorsports fans, F1 figures, politicians and celebrities are honoring racing legend Niki Lauda at a memorial service at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Lauda's hometown of Vienna.
"We all loved and admired Niki. We admired his courage, his will, his strength, his love," said Austrian-born actor and former California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, during the packed funeral Mass at St. Stephen's Cathedral.
Lauda's closed coffin topped with a race helmet was on display in the center of the cathedral until noon local time (10:00 UTC), followed by a public Mass and a private funeral. Lauda was buried wearing his race suit.
A fan removes his red cap, as Lauda used to do after races to congratulate the winnerImage: picture-alliance/APA/KEYSTONE/G. Hochmuth
Around 300 VIP guests, including F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, attended Wednesday's Mass, with space for more than 3,000 attendees open to the general public.
Schwarzenegger, who was a close friend of Lauda's, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, and former Austrian F1 driver Gerhard Berger delivered eulogies. Retired French four-time F1 champion Alain Prost, Lauda's last teammate at McLaren in the 1980s, read a bible verse.
A legend until the end
Lauda won the F1 World Drivers' Championship in 1975, 1977 and 1984. After his second retirement from F1, in 1985, Lauda remained a prominent figure in the paddock, including his most-recent post as the non-executive chairman of the Mercedes F1 team.
Hamilton won the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, wearing an imitation of Lauda's helmet in tribute, and said after the race that Lauda's spirit had helped carry him through.
Lauda was instrumental in convincing Hamilton to join Mercedes ready for the 2013 season, at a time when the team was struggling and did not appear a good fit for a top driver. Since major rule changes in 2014, however, the Silver Arrows have dominated, winning every drivers' and constructors' championship. Hamilton has won the drivers' title in four of the past seasons, and said after his win in Monaco that without Lauda, he might only have the 2008 title to his name.
Emotional tributes to Niki Lauda at Monaco Grand Prix
The F1 circus has arrived in Monaco, light one legend. Several drivers and teams plan individual tributes to Austrian three-time champion Niki Lauda. A collective race-day memorial is also under discussion.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kainulainen
'Niki we wiss you'
Mercedes are running a scarlet halo in front of the cockpit for the weekend, with a farewell message for their non-executive chairman. There's a small hint of irony here, however. Lauda, never afraid to speak his mind, was not a fan of the new protective measure in front of a driver's head — believing that a degree of danger simply came with the territory in F1.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Isakovic
Sebastian Vettel's throwback helmet
Niki Lauda won his first two titles at Ferrari, with his trademark scarlet helmet a perfect fit at the Italian team. At Monaco, Sebastian Vettel will wear this in the 70-year-old's memory. The times have changed somewhat, of course. The 2019 version is covered with rather more adverts than Lauda's was; and the one old sponsor Marlboro is now Philip Morris' "Mission Winnow" e-cigarette venture.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Bruno
Toto Wolff: 'This is very difficult for all of us'
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff lauded Lauda's no-nonsense approach: "I feel that we have lost what was the heart and soul of Formula 1. Niki Lauda could say everything he wanted. Sometimes it gave the communications teams gray hair! But Niki's comment would be, 'who cares?' In today's corporate world, it was so refreshing and important for F1 to have someone who just didn't care."
Image: picture-alliance/APA/J. Gödel
Mercedes honor their late non-executive chairman
Lauda may have won his titles at Ferrari and McLaren, but his most recent post in the paddock was as part of Mercedes' management. Lewis Hamilton, a friend of Lauda's, was excused media duties on Thursday as a result of the Austrian's passing. Lauda convinced Hamilton to join Mercedes in 2013, when the move appeared to be a gamble, at best. Four titles in six years followed.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/D. Davies
The original McCoy
Monaco's one of F1's truly timeless venues. The street circuit has not changed much since Lauda's days. Lauda won twice around the principality, on his way to his first world championship in 1975, and early in the 1976 season, before his life-changing accident at the Nürburgring.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kainulainen
Ferrari's name plate
As in the successful seasons between 1974 and 1977, the Ferraris will bear Niki Lauda's name in white for this weekend's race. Ferrari go into the race in real need of a result, after Mercedes finished 1-2 in all five of the races so far this season — something no other team has ever achieved.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/dpa/L. Bruno
'Thanks Niki'
Toro Rosso, yet another F1 team brimming with Austrian DNA, will also carry a tribute to the 1970s hero. The grid is reportedly in discussions to hold a minute's silence in Lauda's honor on race day on Sunday. One F1 veteran, Mark Gallagher, joked on Twitter that the paddock should consider a tribute to match Lauda's persona, suggesting "2 minutes of no-bullshit, plain speaking in the paddock."
Image: Getty Images/P. Fox
Seventy years of speed
Haas Grand Prix will also pay homage to the Viennese racer this weekend. The US-owned team captioned a photo of their repainted "shark fin" above the car's engine cover with a simple message: "Remembering Niki. In our thoughts this weekend."
Image: picture-alliance/LAT/A. Hone
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Lauda had suffered from permanent health problems since a near-fatal crash at Germany's Nürburgring Nordschleife in 1976. Lauda crashed his Ferrari and was trapped in flaming wreckage for 55 seconds leaving his face permanently scarred and causing massive damage to his lungs.
