Happy Birthday, Niki Lauda – A Look at Career Statistics (February 22, 2018)

Three-time Formula 1 World Champion Niki Lauda celebrates his 69th birthday today. As they say in German, Alles Gute zum Geburtstag.

Born Andreas Nikolaus Lauda in Vienna, Austria, Lauda has made a major impact on the sport since he joined the scene in the 1970s. He won championships for both Ferrari and McLaren, and has held team management roles for Ferrari, Jaguar and now, Mercedes, where he is the non-executive chairman and part owner of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team.

Here’s a quick synopsis of Lauda’s career numbers and statistics, “By The Numbers” style.

By The Numbers – Niki Lauda

½ - Lauda won his third Formula 1 World Championship by a half point over Alain Prost in 1984

2 – Lauda is one of two drivers from Austria to win a Formula 1 World Championship (Jochen Rindt being the other)

2 – Victories in Non-Championship competition, at Silverstone, England (1975) and Imola, Italy (1979)

3 – Formula 1 championships (1975, 1977, 1984), one of 10 drivers to win the title at least that many times

3 – Victories in 1979 BMW M1 Procar Championship, en route to winning the title after retiring from F1 for the first time (Lauda also won an exhibition race in 2008 in an attempt to revive the short-lived series)

5 – Number of victories Lauda earned during his first F1 championship season, in 1975

6 – Lauda is the sixth youngest driver to win his first championship, at 26 years and 197 days

7 – Number of years between World Championships, an F1 record

8 – Different seasons with at least one Formula 1 victory

13 – Different Grand Prix won (Spanish, Dutch, Monaco, Belgian, Swedish, French, United States, Brazilian, South African, British, German, Italian, Austrian)

24 – Career Formula 1 pole positions and fastest race laps

25 – Career Formula 1 victories, tied for ninth all-time

35 – Age (actually, 35 years and 243 days), of third and final championship

54 – Career Formula 1 podiums, which was the most all-time when he retired after the 1985 season (currently 13th all-time

171 – Number of races in which Lauda competed out of 177 entries

Sources

- Wikipedia: Niki Lauda; Formula 1 World Championship records