Book Review: Niki Lauda The Biography by Maurice Hamilton
A portion of Niki Lauda’s unique story reached a new generation of fans through the 2013 movie Rush, which focused on the Ferrari driver’s 1976 battle for the F1 World Drivers’ Championship with McLaren rival James Hunt and his remarkable return from a fiery crash at the Nürburgring. Yet that season encompassed but a fraction of the drama packed into Lauda’s incredible life.
You’re always in safe hands with long-time journalist and author Maurice Hamilton, whose history of the Williams team is also a recommended read. In this definitive biography, published the year after Lauda’s 2019 death, Hamilton keeps his own voice largely in the background, despite having known the Austrian for decades. Instead, he weaves together testimony from Lauda himself and those who knew him best to chart the story, from wheeler-dealer wannabe to two world titles with Ferrari, then to airline executive and respected pilot, another championship, F1 team management and more.
The constant changes of voice and long quotes could result in a disjointed narrative in the wrong hands, but like a skilled documentary maker, Hamilton uses his exhaustive interviews to continue the story rather than just comment on what he’s already said. The focus is primarily on the professional rather than the personal, but there are touching anecdotes about a man who claimed not to have any friends. The reflections of eldest son Lukas correctly get their own chapter towards the end.
There are so many great stories about Lauda within the book that it’s hard to pick standouts, but perhaps it was his response to the Lauda Air Flight 004 accident of 1991 – when a design flaw enabled a thrust-reverser to deploy in mid-air, resulting in the deaths of 223 passengers and crew – that said most about his integrity and strength of character. Lauda lobbied relentlessly for answers until Boeing admitted the fault, finally extracting an admission of guilt with typical straight-talking and brinkmanship.
At least in its public face, modern F1 is largely devoid of Lauda’s tell-it-like-it-is approach and is poorer for it. And as Hamilton observes, Lauda is largely absent from greatest-ever conversations that typically encompass Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. But few have done more for F1 than the man who won two championships with Ferrari, came out of retirement to beat a faster teammate (Alain Prost) to a third title, campaigned for improved safety and had more than a hand in the establishment of Mercedes-AMG’s winning dynasty.
Niki Lauda The Biography
by Maurice Hamilton
Simon & Schuster, 2020. ISBN 978-1-4711-9201-2
Find it on eBay
You’re always in safe hands with long-time journalist and author Maurice Hamilton, whose history of the Williams team is also a recommended read. In this definitive biography, published the year after Lauda’s 2019 death, Hamilton keeps his own voice largely in the background, despite having known the Austrian for decades. Instead, he weaves together testimony from Lauda himself and those who knew him best to chart the story, from wheeler-dealer wannabe to two world titles with Ferrari, then to airline executive and respected pilot, another championship, F1 team management and more.
The constant changes of voice and long quotes could result in a disjointed narrative in the wrong hands, but like a skilled documentary maker, Hamilton uses his exhaustive interviews to continue the story rather than just comment on what he’s already said. The focus is primarily on the professional rather than the personal, but there are touching anecdotes about a man who claimed not to have any friends. The reflections of eldest son Lukas correctly get their own chapter towards the end.
There are so many great stories about Lauda within the book that it’s hard to pick standouts, but perhaps it was his response to the Lauda Air Flight 004 accident of 1991 – when a design flaw enabled a thrust-reverser to deploy in mid-air, resulting in the deaths of 223 passengers and crew – that said most about his integrity and strength of character. Lauda lobbied relentlessly for answers until Boeing admitted the fault, finally extracting an admission of guilt with typical straight-talking and brinkmanship.
At least in its public face, modern F1 is largely devoid of Lauda’s tell-it-like-it-is approach and is poorer for it. And as Hamilton observes, Lauda is largely absent from greatest-ever conversations that typically encompass Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. But few have done more for F1 than the man who won two championships with Ferrari, came out of retirement to beat a faster teammate (Alain Prost) to a third title, campaigned for improved safety and had more than a hand in the establishment of Mercedes-AMG’s winning dynasty.
Niki Lauda The Biography
by Maurice Hamilton
Simon & Schuster, 2020. ISBN 978-1-4711-9201-2
Find it on eBay