Niki Lauda Tribute: Top 5 Wins of the Legend

He was a well-respected member of the paddock and was a regular visitor to the Grand Prix weekends

#3 1982 United States Grand Prix

Niki showed he had lost none of his class when he returned to racing and won his third race

Lauda returned to competitive racing for an unprecedented salary of $3m with McLaren in 1982 after a self-imposed retirement. Initially, it was said that Marlboro wasn't entirely sure about paying Lauda such a huge sum to return to racing. They were not entirely sure how good he was going to be. Soon in his comeback, Lauda dispelled all those fears as he came back and won his third race as he returned to competitive racing.

In a race heavily reliant on the rubber the drivers had underneath them, Lauda intentionally kept a fresh set of Hard tire available for the race. The polesitter, Andrea De Cesaris, set his lap on the softer rubber. In a race of attrition, Lauda kept a calm head and ultimately prevailed as he overtook De Cesaris and went on to win by a huge margin.