Niki Lauda. What a driver. And what a man. Admire him for sticking to his principles. To this day, the only driver to win the F1 title for Ferrari and McLaren. Respect.
Agreed! He was incredible. Makes me proud to be an Austrian and I know it sounds kinda selfish and arrogant but he kinda reminds me of myself in a way. If I would‘ve taken a different path I would probably ended up in a position similar to his, with just a different theme.
Ajmal Hussain I know right, to actually lose by 2 points after 3 retirement while Schumacher only retired once, and then another one again McLarend failed him, he could have won 3 championships. And then Ferrari torture began, and he left. He misses F1, came back in Lotus already performing and challenging top table was insane, and then back to Ferrari and more torture. Vettel now in same seat as Lauda and Raikkonen, Alonso quit of being no.2 driver. Now in the worst car on the grid, Raikkonen the unluckiest world class talent ever to hit F1, haha.
No. Only people that have success talk about their failures. Because the failures never get their voice heard. It's 100% luck that you amount to anything
@Abdulkarim Elnaas In spite of life's randomness I'd say whether or not you manage to be successful is about as much related to "luck" as winning a world series of poker. Once in a blue moon some lucky village idiot gets to be on T.V. but the folks who consistently succeed are usually incorporating an insanely great level of skill, discipline, calculated risk management etc. to "get lucky" more often than the guy bitching on youtube about the cruel unfair world owning them something for failing lol.
That's true. Alan Jones bitterly regrets saying no to a temp spot when Pironi crashed. Having been a Ferrari driver regardless of your results, is remembered as much as your results elsewhere. Jones had actually signed for Ferrari a few years earlier, but later they signed Gilles instead because they wanted a North American in the car.
" Abaco 90 YT " ? !! NO YOU 100 % WRONG. Yes if the Red Machine is Winning but the Red Machine is losing, LEAVE. Why Waste TIME and ENERGY. When Some One Could Be Devoting That TIME and ENERGY to a Great Car. Never waste Anything !! Especially TALENT.
@@MarkRobertCuthbert -- But if you can remember M.Schumaker, I remember that thing very well, when he just arrived in Ferrari, the first year or two, the car was a crap, it was painful to watch every 15 days, or the car broke, or slow, or this or that. Than after a year or possibly two, the things changed dramatically and Schumaker was winning races and championships by default. He didn't left, but endure and went in legend. He is in bed now, perhaps one day a miracle happens.
The moral of the story is never be afraid to walk away from a situation you don’t like. Never feel compelled to stay for money when your personal happiness and satisfaction don’t meet your requirements.
@Twisted Soul I guess what funny3scene means is that most people don't have the luxury of being able to walk away from money. For most 'normal' people, we need money to survive, to support ourselves and others, we need the situation we don't like to make money in order to live. We can't walk away. This is one way that Niki Lauda was fortunate. He may have had the scars and injuries, but he also had a lot of money. So much, that he could decline big payouts until the end of his days. He had no pressure in a financial sense, and that provided him a lot of satisfaction and happiness when he turned down Enzo. Most people turning down a job offer will end up on unemployment or living on the street. This is why in life it is not always possible, which is sad.
@@TheVahaj - This is hindsight. Lauda probably wouldn't have won in 78. He may have won in 79 but who's to say he would have stayed in F1 till 84 and won with McLaren?! He might not have won another championship. Pondering on this isn't worth his time. I think Lauda is allowing his heart to rule his head here. He did everything on his terms and still won 3 championships. I know he's an incredibly motivated, hyper self-critical human being but what more could he seriously want?!
You take two hard-nosed, result-focused men such as Niki Lauda and Enzo Ferrari, put them in the same garage, and sooner or later sparks are going to fly. Niki regretted leaving Ferrari, but I am also quite sure one of Enzo's greatest regrets was letting him go: together they could have dominated the following seasons, and not only that, Villeneuve could've used a more experienced driver who was at polar opposites with his flamboyant attitude as a teammate.
To be fair, I can understand Enzo's concerns at that time, Niki had recovered remarkably well but nobody knew how badly his injuries might affect him over the coming season. That said, he proved that he was still the best driver and won another title.
I remember hating Lauda as a kid for what I perceived as cowardice in not running that last race. Now that I'm older, I find that I respect him more and more every time I hear him speak. I don't always agree, but I respect him now
Think about blinking and damaged tear ducts at 220 mph. In my thinking, you don't get old by being stupid... Mr Lauda is a great Legend and I am nominating him for the Rock Star Hall Of Fame, because that is what he is- A ROCK STAR...R
The conditions in that last race weren't acceptable at all! It was raining heavily. There was water everywhere, aquaplaning and they couldnt see a thing. It was the first race that was planned to be broadcasted all around the world. Under normal surrcumstances, this race wouldnt have been started. They started just because of medial reasons, because of money. Big respect for Niki Lauda, that he gave this a try, but even bigger respect, that he stopped, because not only the risk wasnt unportable, but also the fact that f1 exposed them to that danger just to fulfill the Broadcasting. Unfortunately the rain stopped later on. But in the moment Niki made this decision, it was totally understandable I think.
I must admit I thought the same in 1976 ( I was 9) as I couldn't understand why he didn't want to race but all the other drivers raced. In hindsight he did the correct thing for him.
Got his autograph at Long Beach back in 1983. As I remember he was the first name that came to my mind in racing when I was a kid. I will never forget that name: Niki Lauda
Lauda is a legend because he is great; his instincts were clearly phenomenal, his intelligence, his character, his determination to win, his drive, his principles, his athleticism, all led to Lauda's success....add in a dash of luck and timing and you have the ingredients for history making achievements.
Somehow Bensinger has the best inverviews with F1 drivers, even the active ones. In all other places you would hear the same PR bullshit but with him Nico and Lewis really seemed to speak up openly and honestly. Top job!
I think he shows genuine interest in his interviewee (not only F1 drivers), doesn't want to put himself on the forefront and probably spends a bit time with his guest before really interviewing. My guess, I don't know for sure ofcourse. Greetings.
It was only a bad decision career wise, because he knew Ferraris were the faster car and he would've made more money, but it was the right decision for him at that point.
I actually agree with him. Sometimes you quit a job to spite a boss that at some point lost belief in you, and it feels great! But then you look back and think of what you could have done if you stayed. Suddenly that short-lived satisfaction of quitting unexpectedly that felt so great, is dwarfed by the desire of having accomplished more when you had the chance.
The only reason why Enzo wanted to make Lauda nr.2 driver after the crash was that Enzo was a pragmatical and no-nonsense kind of man who didn't like weakness, and who wanted nothing more than to win. Winning was Enzo's biggest goal and desire, and seeing Lauda giving up the championship in Fuji made him think that Lauda had become mentally weak and wasn't able to deliver his best performances anymore. It wasn't anything personal against Lauda, Enzo liked Lauda very much, but he wanted only the best and the fastest drivers to drive his cars and since Lauda had had that awful accident Enzo thought Lauda didn't have it in him anymore. Enzo was right to question Lauda's mindset because 99% of racing drivers would've surely lost their competitive edge after such a fiery life-threatening crash, but Lauda was different, and I'm sure that if Enzo had known that at the time then he would've kept Lauda as the nr.1 driver.
“The Ferrari pressure” When i hear the word Ferrari in the motorsport World, it’s something magical and very unique thing to hear. You may be the biggest Mercedes fan, or Mclaren fan and so on, but when you hear just the word “Ferrari”- you know that it’s the real deal.
Correct, and why F1 and the FIA are terrified of losing Ferrari from F1. I would still watch F1, but it's value to me would be highly diminished with no Ferrari on the grid.
So being a Ferrari driver creates huge pressure on a guy. Only the toughest like Lauda and Schumacher survive. Even Alonso and Vettel found it overbearing
The sports divorce between Lauda and Ferrari started from a missunderstandig that begun after the Nürburgring accident and that was never clarified. After the accident, no one knew if and when Lauda would return to F1 and so Ferrari decided to hire Reutemann. Lauda returned to the F1 races just 40 days after the accident and, thinking that Ferrari condidered him a finished a man and driver, made it clear to reporters that he did not like Reutemann's engagement even though at the time a racing team could deploy three cars. Enzo Ferrari did not apologize, but he again considered Niki the number one. Then Lauda decided, because of torrential rain, to stop during Japan GP and so Lauda and the Ferrari lost the drivers world championship. Enzo Ferrari did not say anything but considered Reutemann the number one. The following year, Lauda became a world champion again, demonstrating that he was back in the race and Ferrari considered the matter to be over. Not so Niki Laua who left Ferrari among the controversy.
people speak shit now but Enzo was a great man and everyone who was close with him wrote in their memoir that he cared alot about his people,,,ALOT. Gilles Villeneuve spoke long and wide about it
@Kieran Slapman Enzo loved Gilles, he considered him as the second Nuvolari, the greatest pre-war driver who was friend with the Drake, and Ferrari rushed to Mantova as soon as he heard that he passed away, but that was in 1953, also when Gilles died 29 years later he stopped going to the races too by a long time because he was too old and in his last years and remember that he lived for racing (he sold his house to enter as a racing driver and made the road cars just for putting money into racing), so there's a reason why he didn't go to those too and so to Gilles' funeral, keep in mind that he said to Materazzi to do quickly the car in months because he wanted to see it before dying, the car in question was the F40.
Mr. Lauda said it all when he asked Enzo for a raise. A RAISE?? -BUT THIS IS A FERRARI YOU GET TO DRIVE... (translation- This is a family owned business, all my employees are trying to rip me off, and you should be grateful to be a slave to this company). Mr. Lauda took his skills to be top of the top, ben of the ben and looked to be fairly compensated. He looked for greener pasteurs. Unfortunately, A better paying race team may or may not put the money needed into car racing to be a winner. IF this does not happen, the car is unreliable and has to be pulled out of too many races. FERRARI was all Car and all race and backed their car racing first in any case. This is my opinion. Ferrari should have paid Mr. Lauda solid gold money and kept him like forever. With a Car like Ferrari and a First rate driver like Mr. Lauda, he simply could not be beat. This is just my American opinion. Mr. Lauda is a Living Legend and a Man among Men. Many are called and few are chosen, especially to race. My hat is off to you Mr. Lauda, along with millions who have watched you with awe, at your skill and precision at 200 MPH. RESPECT, RH DSD
Enzo Ferrari was a genius trying playing on Lauda's pride as Lauda was a logical warrior: He understood Enzo's ploy and accepted the challenge, but got his terms.
Some times the wrong decision is the right decision and vise versa Niki followed his gut feelings which is something very few of us do. A wise shrewd business man and an honest down to earth guy very few like Niki
Even niki acknowledged the ferrari pressure ... How people forget to see this when they judge seb ...put Lewis in this position and the result will be the same...
To those who come here after 20th May 2019 Rest in Peace, Niki Lauda.... -From a James Hunt fan. Because its no longer about fandoms, its about racing.
Kicking him in the gut when he was down - how could Lauda forget that humiliation ? Anyone in his shoes would have done the same. It's not easy to walk away from Ferrari. # Respect
Each day I been watching Nikki I have gone to love and respect this man in mammoth amounts , such an honest and courageous no nonsense man . I think he had balls and was right to leave Ferrari , the fact that they wanted to demote him to number 2 means they had deep seated disrespect and sense of him being just a pawn to replace .... no amount of money puts that part right when someone thinks you’re piece of crap to play... Nikki was right to leave he nice his legacy lives on that he’s not up for sale 👍❤️❤️🇬🇧🙏🏼
So can anyone explain how to understand what he just said? He said he felt happy and relieved not to have pressure on him anymore, but then he says that leaving ferrari was a mistake. Just why its a mistake when you were happy and relieved wouldnt it be a mistake to have this pressure on your shoulders the whole time?
Most of us have 2 halves, there's you and then there's you with the talents you have. Life is about trying to balance the two. Great achievements can be made with great talent and personal sacrifice, but sometimes it is better to choose instead what makes us happy and content. Like many, I've had this dilemma and all I can say is that you make the best decisions you can at the time and that it is only later you can judge if they were right or wrong. His was right for him and wrong for his talent, even so, he made the right choice.
One of the greatest pilot with a huge personnality ! Ferrari was lucky to have it as driver. I was told that he convinced Schumi to join the scuderia ... (?)
Ozzyundead You embarrass yourself? Are you trying to figure me and my culture out now? Dont assume shit bud, just shows your arrogance and stereotypical judgement on people... It would be like me guessing your American. Based of your arrogance... And thinking your an overweight slob just because thats what other people around the world say... So, youve atleast travelled the world, and when you worked for real Italians, you mean you worked in Italy for awhile right?
He’s right! But I don’t think he regretted it. Be wrong, but learn from your mistake and move on and become better! Make the right decisions for you and be happy!
Lauda and Ferrari were a winning pair: in fact, they won, in four years, two world chanpionsip drivers (1975,1977) and lost the other two (1974, 1976) only during the last race. Instead Lauda and Ferrari, as rivals, in six years (1978-1979, 1982-1985) won only one championship (Ferrari 1979, Lauda 1984) Percentage Lauda Ferrari victories together 50%, as rivals percent wins 16%. For Lauda and Ferrari, to be rival, it was a nuisance for both.
excellent point. they probably should have continued to work together, Niki Lauda could have become as successful as Michael Schumacher. to be honest, in his book "protocol - my years with Ferrari" Niki precisely described that after his accident and after his temporary demotion, his relationship with Enzo Ferrari was and stayed poisonous. so the question is - what do you want? personal happiness? or more championship titles?
Alex 967 It was Clay Regazzoni who was in contention for the 1974 title not Lauda. 1974 standings: 1. Emerson Fittipaldi (McLaren) 55 points, 2. Clay Regazzoni (Ferrari) 52 points, 3. Jody Scheckter (Tyrrell) 45 points, 4. Niki Lauda (Ferrari) 38 points, Ronnie Peterson (Lotus) 35 points. You also forget that Emerson Fittipaldi insisting on driving for the Brazilian Copersucar team rather than staying with McLaren or resigning with Lotus spared Lauda of some serious competition. You completely ignore the fact Lotus had the dominant ground effect Lotus 79 in 1978 with which Andretti or anybody good still would have won an easy title with. Reutemann left Ferrari at the end of 1978 to join Lotus for 1979. Seeing as Ferrari's flat 12 made it impossible to make a ground effect, sliding skirt Ferrari I don't see Lauda staying seeing this huge disadvantage. Nelson Piquet was the 1981 and 1983 champion with Brabham. Lauda had been Piquet's team mate in 1979 but couldn't match him. If what you say is true Lauda might have won those titles Piquet won in 1981 and 1983 and seeing as how Piquet nearly won the 1980 title there's another. Your deduction is flawed for Ferrari won when they didn't have the best car (1979) but if it was Lauda in that Williams instead of Regazzoni or Alan Jones he might have won three straight titles with Williams in 1979-1980-1981 (won 16 races in three season which was more than any other team). Lauda saw in 1977 that he no longer had the fastest car. He won due to having superior reliability. Had Lotus not wasted five seasons with an experimental DFV V8 Mario Andretti would most likely would have been champion in 1977 as well as 1978. Andretti was on pole 7 times and won 4 races in 1977. Lauda had 2 poles and won 3 races. He regrets having joined Brabham and regrets having Piquet as team mate. That's all.
I did the math. in 1977, he outperformed Carlos Reutemann by 72:42 points, and please bear in mind that Niki competed only in 13 out of 15 races since he became world champion two races early. in 1978, the final count was: Andretti (Lotus) 64, the late Ronnie Peterson (Lotus) 51, Carlos Reutemann (Ferrari) 48, Niki Lauda (Brabham) 44. Maybe Niki would not have been able to beat Mario Andretti, but I tend to think that in a Ferrari 312T3, he would have at least outperformed Carlos Reutemann and the unfortunate Ronnie Peterson.
Interesting the same concept of Number 2 things is why probably Vettel is leaving Ferrari with the same concept some 42 years later. But on another note who else other then Niki ever said to ENZO Ferrari or any Ferrari person that they are LEAVING even though the team wanted HIM
@@hairystyles9794 I'm Italian from Bologna from Italian parents and grew up in the land of Ferrari Lamborghini etc etc check the map if you don't know what I'm talking about. Do you want to see my id card too?
Nice to see Ferrari treats everybody with the same disregard. The crap they pull with their car owners is beyond arrogant. Brass balls on Lauda to go back on the track, especially in those days.
It was not wrong to leave Ferrari just like you said Niki, you don't have friends Ferrari was never your friend going by the decisions they made after your horrific accident, they just needed you to continue to win for them. RIP Niki
Glad you interviewed him. Now he’s left us. RIP Niki.
dont worry, hes doing donuts with james hunt up in heaven right now.
DuckstepGaming Its DOUGHNUTA YOU MUSLİM!!
@@michaelcorleone2794 What the hell is your problem ???
He's not dead, he's just one lap ahead of us.
Niki Lauda. What a driver. And what a man. Admire him for sticking to his principles. To this day, the only driver to win the F1 title for Ferrari and McLaren. Respect.
Agreed! He was incredible. Makes me proud to be an Austrian and I know it sounds kinda selfish and arrogant but he kinda reminds me of myself in a way.
If I would‘ve taken a different path I would probably ended up in a position similar to his, with just a different theme.
But at the end he admitted it was the wrong decision, so sometimes don’t let your ego drive u down a road that isn’t good for u
Kimi could have won for both McLaren and Ferrari also had the McLaren's of that time not been made out of nitroglycerin or porcelain vases.
Ajmal Hussain I know right, to actually lose by 2 points after 3 retirement while Schumacher only retired once, and then another one again McLarend failed him, he could have won 3 championships. And then Ferrari torture began, and he left. He misses F1, came back in Lotus already performing and challenging top table was insane, and then back to Ferrari and more torture. Vettel now in same seat as Lauda and Raikkonen, Alonso quit of being no.2 driver. Now in the worst car on the grid, Raikkonen the unluckiest world class talent ever to hit F1, haha.
Takes a big man to admit his mistakes.
No. Only people that have success talk about their failures. Because the failures never get their voice heard. It's 100% luck that you amount to anything
but i think did well. ferrari was a pressure chamber at times, and now too...
He is as great as they come.
@Abdulkarim Elnaas In spite of life's randomness I'd say whether or not you manage to be successful is about as much related to "luck" as winning a world series of poker. Once in a blue moon some lucky village idiot gets to be on T.V. but the folks who consistently succeed are usually incorporating an insanely great level of skill, discipline, calculated risk management etc. to "get lucky" more often than the guy bitching on youtube about the cruel unfair world owning them something for failing lol.
@@zebunker it’s not just success, a lot of successful people have too big egos to admit their mistakes
The pressure of being a Ferrari driver is high but it makes you a legend. That's it.
That's true. Alan Jones bitterly regrets saying no to a temp spot when Pironi crashed. Having been a Ferrari driver regardless of your results, is remembered as much as your results elsewhere.
Jones had actually signed for Ferrari a few years earlier, but later they signed Gilles instead because they wanted a North American in the car.
" Abaco 90 YT " ? !! NO YOU 100 % WRONG.
Yes if the Red Machine is Winning but the Red Machine is losing, LEAVE.
Why Waste TIME and ENERGY. When Some One Could Be Devoting That TIME and ENERGY to a Great Car. Never waste Anything !! Especially TALENT.
@@MarkRobertCuthbert -- But if you can remember M.Schumaker, I remember that thing very well, when he just arrived in Ferrari, the first year or two, the car was a crap, it was painful to watch every 15 days, or the car broke, or slow, or this or that. Than after a year or possibly two, the things changed dramatically and Schumaker was winning races and championships by default. He didn't left, but endure and went in legend. He is in bed now, perhaps one day a miracle happens.
Yes I agree but only if you win races.
👍
@@markmark5269 in 74 Ferrari wanted reutemann, then Pace, finally it was Lauda beacause Regazzoni recommended him,
I love how he specifies "McLaren was a competitive car at the time" 😂
Yeah cuz you say McLaren is competitive and someone burst out laughing
i'm still in tears, mclaren, that was a good one
At least he didn't say Williams :P
@@jnordne2 if you said that someone starts wheezing..
That's cute considering Mclaren and Williams were big teams back in the day.
goodbye champ, rest in peace.
If you feel like a feather after leaving a meeting, you
have made the right decision. Niki was my idol since 1974. I will miss him.
but he said he was wrong...
The moral of the story is never be afraid to walk away from a situation you don’t like. Never feel compelled to stay for money when your personal happiness and satisfaction don’t meet your requirements.
I hear you, but in life it is not always possible...sad...
Twisted Soul smh kid. You’ll understand one day
@Twisted Soul I guess what funny3scene means is that most people don't have the luxury of being able to walk away from money. For most 'normal' people, we need money to survive, to support ourselves and others, we need the situation we don't like to make money in order to live. We can't walk away. This is one way that Niki Lauda was fortunate. He may have had the scars and injuries, but he also had a lot of money. So much, that he could decline big payouts until the end of his days. He had no pressure in a financial sense, and that provided him a lot of satisfaction and happiness when he turned down Enzo. Most people turning down a job offer will end up on unemployment or living on the street. This is why in life it is not always possible, which is sad.
He's literally saying the opposite, he says he shouldn't have left.
@@TheVahaj - This is hindsight. Lauda probably wouldn't have won in 78. He may have won in 79 but who's to say he would have stayed in F1 till 84 and won with McLaren?! He might not have won another championship. Pondering on this isn't worth his time.
I think Lauda is allowing his heart to rule his head here. He did everything on his terms and still won 3 championships. I know he's an incredibly motivated, hyper self-critical human being but what more could he seriously want?!
4:30 ''The Ferrari pressure to perform"'.
You take two hard-nosed, result-focused men such as Niki Lauda and Enzo Ferrari, put them in the same garage, and sooner or later sparks are going to fly. Niki regretted leaving Ferrari, but I am also quite sure one of Enzo's greatest regrets was letting him go: together they could have dominated the following seasons, and not only that, Villeneuve could've used a more experienced driver who was at polar opposites with his flamboyant attitude as a teammate.
Nope. Villeneuve was Lauda's replacement at Ferrari.
Ahhhh..! I love a good 'what if' scenario. And the Lauda/Villeneuve/Ferrari combo is one of the best yet! Thanks
To be fair, I can understand Enzo's concerns at that time, Niki had recovered remarkably well but nobody knew how badly his injuries might affect him over the coming season. That said, he proved that he was still the best driver and won another title.
RIP Niki you absolute legend
Admit it. We Indians don’t use his second name for a reason.
I remember hating Lauda as a kid for what I perceived as cowardice in not running that last race. Now that I'm older, I find that I respect him more and more every time I hear him speak. I don't always agree, but I respect him now
Sei italiano?
Think about blinking and damaged tear ducts at 220 mph. In my thinking, you don't get old by being stupid... Mr Lauda is a great Legend and I am nominating him for the Rock Star Hall Of Fame, because that is what he is- A ROCK STAR...R
The conditions in that last race weren't acceptable at all! It was raining heavily. There was water everywhere, aquaplaning and they couldnt see a thing. It was the first race that was planned to be broadcasted all around the world. Under normal surrcumstances, this race wouldnt have been started. They started just because of medial reasons, because of money. Big respect for Niki Lauda, that he gave this a try, but even bigger respect, that he stopped, because not only the risk wasnt unportable, but also the fact that f1 exposed them to that danger just to fulfill the Broadcasting. Unfortunately the rain stopped later on. But in the moment Niki made this decision, it was totally understandable I think.
A good driver knows when he can and when he can't do it its not cowardice but BRAIN!
I must admit I thought the same in 1976 ( I was 9) as I couldn't understand why he didn't want to race but all the other drivers raced.
In hindsight he did the correct thing for him.
Got his autograph at Long Beach back in 1983. As I remember he was the first name that came to my mind in racing when I was a kid. I will never forget that name: Niki Lauda
Wow omg 😮
Do you have a picture ?
@@abhilash4976 no I was alone so no one to take a pic of me with him.
@@Yahniboy how old are you sir??
@@wegewege1217 57
Lauda is a legend because he is great; his instincts were clearly phenomenal, his intelligence, his character, his determination to win, his drive, his principles, his athleticism, all led to Lauda's success....add in a dash of luck and timing and you have the ingredients for history making achievements.
Somehow Bensinger has the best inverviews with F1 drivers, even the active ones. In all other places you would hear the same PR bullshit but with him Nico and Lewis really seemed to speak up openly and honestly. Top job!
I think he shows genuine interest in his interviewee (not only F1 drivers), doesn't want to put himself on the forefront and probably spends a bit time with his guest before really interviewing. My guess, I don't know for sure ofcourse. Greetings.
True legend, RIP Niki
simply wow. What a character. He speaks about own mistakes ...
Listening him talking, it doesn't feel like a bad decision. Actually it feels like the best decision he could have taken.
thought the same thing
It was only a bad decision career wise, because he knew Ferraris were the faster car and he would've made more money, but it was the right decision for him at that point.
I actually agree with him. Sometimes you quit a job to spite a boss that at some point lost belief in you, and it feels great! But then you look back and think of what you could have done if you stayed. Suddenly that short-lived satisfaction of quitting unexpectedly that felt so great, is dwarfed by the desire of having accomplished more when you had the chance.
Grew up watching this amazing guy on sunday, the best. RIP Niki.
My role model in many aspects. Race In Peace, Nikki!
The only reason why Enzo wanted to make Lauda nr.2 driver after the crash was that Enzo was a pragmatical and no-nonsense kind of man who didn't like weakness, and who wanted nothing more than to win. Winning was Enzo's biggest goal and desire, and seeing Lauda giving up the championship in Fuji made him think that Lauda had become mentally weak and wasn't able to deliver his best performances anymore. It wasn't anything personal against Lauda, Enzo liked Lauda very much, but he wanted only the best and the fastest drivers to drive his cars and since Lauda had had that awful accident Enzo thought Lauda didn't have it in him anymore. Enzo was right to question Lauda's mindset because 99% of racing drivers would've surely lost their competitive edge after such a fiery life-threatening crash, but Lauda was different, and I'm sure that if Enzo had known that at the time then he would've kept Lauda as the nr.1 driver.
100 percent agree. But politics at Ferrari have always been complicated........
Enzo was an ass
Enzo thought he was weak? He came back as soon as possible after his accident with burnt internal organs and scars
Enzo was a dick
Niki is definitely not weak. He is stronger mentally than probably every driver on the grid today combined. Minus Kimi.
“The Ferrari pressure”
When i hear the word Ferrari in the motorsport World, it’s something magical and very unique thing to hear.
You may be the biggest Mercedes fan, or Mclaren fan and so on, but when you hear just the word “Ferrari”- you know that it’s the real deal.
Correct, and why F1 and the FIA are terrified of losing Ferrari from F1. I would still watch F1, but it's value to me would be highly diminished with no Ferrari on the grid.
@@markmark5269 And if they formed a rival Championship with other teams, a huge chunk of fans would leave F1.
Mancester United of Formula 1
So being a Ferrari driver creates huge pressure on a guy. Only the toughest like Lauda and Schumacher survive. Even Alonso and Vettel found it overbearing
The sports divorce between Lauda and Ferrari started from a missunderstandig that begun after the Nürburgring accident and that was never clarified. After the accident, no one knew if and when Lauda would return to F1 and so Ferrari decided to hire Reutemann. Lauda returned to the F1 races just 40 days after the accident and, thinking that Ferrari condidered him a finished a man and driver, made it clear to reporters that he did not like Reutemann's engagement even though at the time a racing team could deploy three cars. Enzo Ferrari did not apologize, but he again considered Niki the number one. Then Lauda decided, because of torrential rain, to stop during Japan GP and so Lauda and the Ferrari lost the drivers world championship. Enzo Ferrari did not say anything but considered Reutemann the number one. The following year, Lauda became a world champion again, demonstrating that he was back in the race and Ferrari considered the matter to be over. Not so Niki Laua who left Ferrari among the controversy.
Ron Dennis was not in Mclaren in 77, I think he meant Teddy Mayer.
Yeah he arrived at McLaren in 1980.
Fairlight CMI, i think you misunderstood the video. What Luda said is that he lied to Enzo that he could go to McLaren.
I was thinking the same thing. I am surprised he made that error.
@Fairlight CMI if the way you recall it, in your head, is wrong, is it a lie?
Maybe he accidentally mentioned his 2nd stint at McLaren in '82..
What a tremendous story by Niki...love his insider stories about F1.
“You will not recover as fast as you think”
*Completely outclasses Reutemann and wins the world championship*
people speak shit now but Enzo was a great man and everyone who was close with him wrote in their memoir that he cared alot about his people,,,ALOT. Gilles Villeneuve spoke long and wide about it
@Kieran Slapman Enzo loved Gilles, he considered him as the second Nuvolari, the greatest pre-war driver who was friend with the Drake, and Ferrari rushed to Mantova as soon as he heard that he passed away, but that was in 1953, also when Gilles died 29 years later he stopped going to the races too by a long time because he was too old and in his last years and remember that he lived for racing (he sold his house to enter as a racing driver and made the road cars just for putting money into racing), so there's a reason why he didn't go to those too and so to Gilles' funeral, keep in mind that he said to Materazzi to do quickly the car in months because he wanted to see it before dying, the car in question was the F40.
I met Niki in 2006 and i ask him about Enzo,he only told me: "He wasn't a bad guy"
RIP Niki. Respect from 🇬🇧
he was a a brutaly honest man with a heart respect
Rest in peace the legend
Niki very funny very fast and most of all very principled.....
i loved listening to hes stories...what a great man...rip my friend
What I really liked about Lauda was the fact that he was a genius when it came to F1.
RIP
Ciao Niki , da Italiano per sempre grato per le tue vittorie in Ferrari , rip hero of my childhood..
Mr. Lauda said it all when he asked Enzo for a raise. A RAISE?? -BUT THIS IS A FERRARI YOU GET TO DRIVE... (translation- This is a family owned business, all my employees are trying to rip me off, and you should be grateful to be a slave to this company). Mr. Lauda took his skills to be top of the top, ben of the ben and looked to be fairly compensated. He looked for greener pasteurs. Unfortunately, A better paying race team may or may not put the money needed into car racing to be a winner. IF this does not happen, the car is unreliable and has to be pulled out of too many races. FERRARI was all Car and all race and backed their car racing first in any case. This is my opinion. Ferrari should have paid Mr. Lauda solid gold money and kept him like forever. With a Car like Ferrari and a First rate driver like Mr. Lauda, he simply could not be beat. This is just my American opinion. Mr. Lauda is a Living Legend and a Man among Men. Many are called and few are chosen, especially to race. My hat is off to you Mr. Lauda, along with millions who have watched you with awe, at your skill and precision at 200 MPH. RESPECT, RH DSD
His brutally honest about his mistake he admitted it twice 💪🏾
I love that Graham let's Niki talk...he's such a great story teller. It's like sitting with your grandfather... if he was a badass F1 driver.
This is a great channel.
Enzo Ferrari was a genius trying playing on Lauda's pride as Lauda was a logical warrior: He understood Enzo's ploy and accepted the challenge, but got his terms.
I could listen to this man talk for hours.
wow my favorite interview surprised it came from
f1 driver legend it got me curious with f1.
I am surprised at the low number of views for such a valuable interview.
He reminds me so much of kimi, his style of speaking and just his vibes. God the sport lost a legend :(
Nothing but admiration and respect for this legend of a man.
We miss you Niki ❤️
Some times the wrong decision is the right decision and vise versa Niki followed his gut feelings which is something very few of us do. A wise shrewd business man and an honest down to earth guy very few like Niki
The 3 time champion, admitted he could’ve won way more if he stayed, now that’s truly legendary
Love Nikki Lauda...I can only imagine how much pressure it is to be the #1 driver at Ferrari...just ask vettel right now.
Mr Lauda is a man. HONEST MAN.
Sad than he past away.
That intellectual honesty...If he remained he would probably have won at least two more championships easily...!
When you go thru a brush with death, all you want is to feel less pressure and to be treated with a bit of respect. He did the right thing.
Pole position in the comments section
2nd, but I will get you into the first corner.
gonna pull a verstappen and take you both out off the line
4th gonna do a ricciardo on 3 of you and take the win.
exchangedspider *hamilton
I'll be your Kvyat
May Niki rest in peace
If he hadnt left there may never have been a Gilles Villenuve.
Humble.. honest... Reflective.
Aged & wisdom can have those effects on us all.. Hopefully!
Even niki acknowledged the ferrari pressure ... How people forget to see this when they judge seb ...put Lewis in this position and the result will be the same...
To those who come here after 20th May 2019
Rest in Peace, Niki Lauda....
-From a James Hunt fan. Because its no longer about fandoms, its about racing.
We have to admit it though... enzo didnt give a fuck to other's opinion... he did what he felt right and stuck to his decision... swag man
Niki was such a talented, thoughtful, and articulate guy...
Kicking him in the gut when he was down - how could Lauda forget that humiliation ? Anyone in his shoes would have done the same. It's not easy to walk away from Ferrari. # Respect
I love his story about Enzo Ferrari...
In the end Ferrari is Ferrari. I like how he admits that he was wrong to leave.
Always the best love to this guy
RIP Niki, you will live forever in our hearts
Each day I been watching Nikki I have gone to love and respect this man in mammoth amounts , such an honest and courageous no nonsense man . I think he had balls and was right to leave Ferrari , the fact that they wanted to demote him to number 2 means they had deep seated disrespect and sense of him being just a pawn to replace .... no amount of money puts that part right when someone thinks you’re piece of crap to play... Nikki was right to leave he nice his legacy lives on that he’s not up for sale 👍❤️❤️🇬🇧🙏🏼
The LEGEND!!!!!!
So can anyone explain how to understand what he just said?
He said he felt happy and relieved not to have pressure on him anymore, but then he says that leaving ferrari was a mistake. Just why its a mistake when you were happy and relieved wouldnt it be a mistake to have this pressure on your shoulders the whole time?
Most of us have 2 halves, there's you and then there's you with the talents you have. Life is about trying to balance the two. Great achievements can be made with great talent and personal sacrifice, but sometimes it is better to choose instead what makes us happy and content.
Like many, I've had this dilemma and all I can say is that you make the best decisions you can at the time and that it is only later you can judge if they were right or wrong. His was right for him and wrong for his talent, even so, he made the right choice.
One of the greatest pilot with a huge personnality ! Ferrari was lucky to have it as driver. I was told that he convinced Schumi to join the scuderia ... (?)
Italians man. They are still the same today. Relate.
What do you mean?
Ozzyundead
Glad you got people figured out by their culture...
You must be a briliant person...
dude I worked for real italians for 15 years bro. What Niki Lauda says I see in my experience. You embarrass yourself
How old r u by the way cause im gonna figure u out on your age alone what is it?
Ozzyundead
You embarrass yourself?
Are you trying to figure me and my culture out now?
Dont assume shit bud, just shows your arrogance and stereotypical judgement on people...
It would be like me guessing your American.
Based of your arrogance...
And thinking your an overweight slob just because thats what other people around the world say...
So, youve atleast travelled the world, and when you worked for real Italians, you mean you worked in Italy for awhile right?
He may seem harsh and cynic but in a world going down the drain ,we need more people like him in charge, straightforward, telling the ugly truth.
I LOVE Ki Ki Lauda and I miss Him Very Much RIP
he couldn't stand Reutemann.
He’s right! But I don’t think he regretted it.
Be wrong, but learn from your mistake and move on and become better!
Make the right decisions for you and be happy!
Just saw where he passed away. Sad to hear. RIP Niki Lauda.
Very interesting thought process!
Not to question Niki's memory, but was Ron Dennis at McLaren in 1977, or am I misunderstanding something here...
he's like the og godfather of f1, he's got the championships and scars to prove it
Thanks sir
RIP the legend
Lauda and Ferrari were a winning pair: in fact, they won, in four years, two world chanpionsip drivers (1975,1977) and lost the other two (1974, 1976) only during the last race. Instead Lauda and Ferrari, as rivals, in six years (1978-1979, 1982-1985) won only one championship (Ferrari 1979, Lauda 1984) Percentage Lauda Ferrari victories together 50%, as rivals percent wins 16%. For Lauda and Ferrari, to be rival, it was a nuisance for both.
excellent point. they probably should have continued to work together, Niki Lauda could have become as successful as Michael Schumacher. to be honest, in his book "protocol - my years with Ferrari" Niki precisely described that after his accident and after his temporary demotion, his relationship with Enzo Ferrari was and stayed poisonous. so the question is - what do you want? personal happiness? or more championship titles?
Lauda had no chance of winning the 74 championship before the last race of that season. However his team mate Clay Regazzoni did.
Alex 967 It was Clay Regazzoni who was in contention for the 1974 title not Lauda.
1974 standings: 1. Emerson Fittipaldi (McLaren) 55 points, 2. Clay Regazzoni (Ferrari) 52 points, 3. Jody Scheckter (Tyrrell) 45 points, 4. Niki Lauda (Ferrari) 38 points, Ronnie Peterson (Lotus) 35 points. You also forget that Emerson Fittipaldi insisting on driving for the Brazilian Copersucar team rather than staying with McLaren or resigning with Lotus spared Lauda of some serious competition.
You completely ignore the fact Lotus had the dominant ground effect Lotus 79 in 1978 with which Andretti or anybody good still would have won an easy title with. Reutemann left Ferrari at the end of 1978 to join Lotus for 1979. Seeing as Ferrari's flat 12 made it impossible to make a ground effect, sliding skirt Ferrari I don't see Lauda staying seeing this huge disadvantage.
Nelson Piquet was the 1981 and 1983 champion with Brabham. Lauda had been Piquet's team mate in 1979 but couldn't match him. If what you say is true Lauda might have won those titles Piquet won in 1981 and 1983 and seeing as how Piquet nearly won the 1980 title there's another.
Your deduction is flawed for Ferrari won when they didn't have the best car (1979) but if it was Lauda in that Williams instead of Regazzoni or Alan Jones he might have won three straight titles with Williams in 1979-1980-1981 (won 16 races in three season which was more than any other team).
Lauda saw in 1977 that he no longer had the fastest car. He won due to having superior reliability. Had Lotus not wasted five seasons with an experimental DFV V8 Mario Andretti would most likely would have been champion in 1977 as well as 1978. Andretti was on pole 7 times and won 4 races in 1977. Lauda had 2 poles and won 3 races.
He regrets having joined Brabham and regrets having Piquet as team mate. That's all.
I can't believe that he didn't ask him about when he drove the famous 'fan car', probably the fastest car Niki ever drove.
Rest in peace Niki..
Why regret??? You've won the championship again in 1984 with mclaren. And Brabham bt46b was a famous car.
Perhaps he thought that he could have won the 1979s championship with Ferrari?
Weesky
He would have won 78 and 79 in the Ferrari...
I doubt that he would have won in 1978. The Lotus was just too strong.
TOFKAS01
With Lauda in his prime and Ferrari still having a good car, 78 would have been possible...
But yes, Lotus was pretty strong
I did the math. in 1977, he outperformed Carlos Reutemann by 72:42 points, and please bear in mind that Niki competed only in 13 out of 15 races since he became world champion two races early. in 1978, the final count was: Andretti (Lotus) 64, the late Ronnie Peterson (Lotus) 51, Carlos Reutemann (Ferrari) 48, Niki Lauda (Brabham) 44. Maybe Niki would not have been able to beat Mario Andretti, but I tend to think that in a Ferrari 312T3, he would have at least outperformed Carlos Reutemann and the unfortunate Ronnie Peterson.
Interesting the same concept of Number 2 things is why probably Vettel is leaving Ferrari with the same concept some 42 years later. But on another note who else other then Niki ever said to ENZO Ferrari or any Ferrari person that they are LEAVING even though the team wanted HIM
Italians always act on temper ! lol
Nice stereotype dude...
@@delbroox are you even Italian or are you "Italian" from New Jersey?
@@hairystyles9794 I'm Italian from Bologna from Italian parents and grew up in the land of Ferrari Lamborghini etc etc check the map if you don't know what I'm talking about. Do you want to see my id card too?
Bravo!
Nice to see Ferrari treats everybody with the same disregard. The crap they pull with their car owners is beyond arrogant. Brass balls on Lauda to go back on the track, especially in those days.
Ferrari's why too high and mighty. I wonder if they're the same today.
You are a Legend RIP
He went on to be the most successful driver in the world without Ferrari, he didn’t need them, they needed him.
RIP und Danke Niki
When Lauda won in 77 he was the only multiple Ferrari world champion since Ascari. He was a big deal for the factory and to Enzo
Rip niki the best Indy car driver ever
Rip legend ☹
Fernando should admit it too
This guy is fascinating
It was not wrong to leave Ferrari just like you said Niki, you don't have friends Ferrari was never your friend going by the decisions they made after your horrific accident, they just needed you to continue to win for them. RIP Niki
Nah Nikki, ain't no mistake in following your heart!
I dont know if consider it a mistake, he probably would have done the same if he has the chance again