F1 bid farewell to Niki Lauda
The funeral of Niki Lauda, who passed away on May 20th, took place this Wednesday in Vienna with the presence of his family and many personalities from the world of Formula 1.
It was this Wednesday that the world of Formula 1 bid farewell to the three-time world champion Niki Lauda, who passed away on Monday, May 20, due to renal failure following a lung transplant that took place last summer.
A religious ceremony took place at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna in the presence of his widow, Birgit, his two sons, Mathias and Lukas, and many Formula 1 personalities. The entire Mercedes team was present alongside Toto Wolff, Lewis Hamilton, and Valtteri Bottas. Drivers from his generation also paid tribute to him, such as Alain Prost and Gerhard Berger, who spoke during the ceremony where Niki Lauda’s coffin was displayed with a laurel wreath and his racing helmet placed on top.
The family also specified that the driver would be buried with his Ferrari world champion suit during a private ceremony at an undisclosed location.
A large crowd despite the rain gathered in front of the Cathedral to pay final respects to the Austrian champion, along with other personalities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nico Rosberg, Helmut Marko, Nigel Mansell, Jean Alesi, Jacques Laffite, and the Austrian President, Alexander Van der Bellen.
Only Bernie Ecclestone was absent, but he had made it clear that he would not attend the ceremony because he didn’t want to see Niki dead; for him, Niki will remain forever alive.
