Lauda, Niki (1949 ), Austrian motor-racing driver and three times World Champion (1975, 1977, 1984). Born Nikolaus Andreas Lauda in Vienna, he started his career in 1968 at hill-climbing and later progressed to Formula Three (1970) and Formula Two (1971). His first Formula One wins came in the 1974 Spanish and Dutch Grand Prix with Ferrari. He drove for March 1971-1972, BRM 1973, Ferrari 1974-1977, Brabham 1978-1979 and McLaren 1982-1985.In 1976 he had a dreadful accident in the German Grand Prix, which almost killed him, and he suffered severe burns to his face and lungs. He made an extraordinary return to driving eight weeks later and that same year lost the world title to James Hunt by only one point. Lauda regained the championship the next season, winning the South African, German, and Dutch races. After moving to Brabham and then briefly retiring, Lauda joined McLaren. In 1984 he won his third championship, only a half-point ahead of his French colleague Alain Prost. Lauda permanently retired in 1985. In all he won 25 Grand Prix races and achieved a record 420 points from 171 starts. In retirement he formed LaudaAir, an aviation company.