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Niki Lauda on James Hunt's Death
Niki Lauda and James Hunt personified an era where F1 was less about showbizz and more about the mortality that drivers constantly confronted.
Not Lewis, not Kimi, Vettel, Button, or Alonso, and not even Senna or Prost, Lauda arrived in the sport way back in the seventies, in fact, in 1971.
As you and I look around for heroes, often sufficiently compelled to believe that the number of world titles has put an end to this raging question- that after all, what really does constitute greatness- Lauda serves an example in restraint.
Not only were he a triple world champion, someone who had more 15 more wins than his closest rival James Hunt, and not to forget, 31 more podiums than the 1976 world champion, Lauda never demeaned his rival- did he?
On the contrary and if popular culture serves us well, it is believed (or said) Lauda said that "Hunt" was equally responsible for putting him back in the car, when referring to the 1976 comeback.
And yet, here's a man who may have lacked the flair and panache that Hunt so naturally brought to racing- let's not forget the Briton was no less talented himself- that Niki reserved respect for his greatest rival speaks highly of the man and his stature as a great. Does it not?
