Formula One legend Niki Lauda has died aged 70, his family has said.
“With deep sadness, we announce that our beloved Niki has peacefully passed away with his family on Monday,” the family said in a statement, according to the Austrian press agency.
The statement paid tribute to “his unique achievements as an athlete and entrepreneur” and said “his tireless zest for action, his straightforwardness and his courage remain.
“A role model and a benchmark for all of us, he was a loving and caring husband, father and grandfather away from the public, and he will be missed.”
A Formula One legend, Lauda won three world titles in 1975, 1977 and 1984 with Mercedes and Ferrari.
A near-fatal crash in 1976 left him with severe burns, but he was able to come back to the sport, winning his second world championship just a year after the accident.
In his time there was some 1 in 5 chance of dying in a crash as an F1 driver, he nearly went that way but had one of the most courageous careers in F1.
Nowadays F1 is a relatively boring procession of pointy cars round a track, I guess there's always nostalgia for times when things were likely a little more dangerous but very much more exciting.
How much would you trade danger for excitement?
