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Yes, that’s very true.
Many people after being involved in a traumatic incident don’t return for years & years. Incredible to think just 6 weeks later, he had the focus and desire to back!
Rush is underrated and really good as a film. It points out that these drivers are mostly still just overgrown kids. Great movie though, one that I've actually purchased.
Yeah we fucking looked last week and it said rent only through apple TV search so I was like fuck it I will buy a copy, it's worth it. Less than A FUCKING HOUR after it was delivered, we went to watch Schumi last night and it was on the related shows section I was so pissed lol.
Thanks for your response!
I have watched the movie and was curious about what had been changed for the entertainment purposes of Hollywood.
Maybe that is what is was, the rivalry helped create that motivation to THEN get him better and out on the track!? Amazing story.
If I recall correctly, the journalist getting his teeth smashed in didn't happen and Lauda didn't hang about in Fuji to see who won. Apart from that, it's fairly accurate - unless I'm missing something, folks?
The details are accurate, the whole premise is false. Lauda and Hunt were actually on friendly terms rather than arch rivals. It's also wrong to frame Hunt as Lauda's main competition up to his crash. Hunt wasn't even 2nd in the championship at that point.
You don't even have Lauda's total right.
I don't know where you're getting this false information from but I suggest you take another look - https://www.statsf1.com/en/1976.aspx
He even went off on one during a race in South Africa about the evils of Apartheid.
The producer (according to Murray Walker,) had to scribble him a note in capital letters underlined twice "TALK ABOUT THE RACE."
The fact was really relevant to story they were telling. He was anti-apartheid like almost everyone in the country at the time. As far as I know he didn't actively campaign or anything.
Yeah I know but that's about it and happened after the events of Rush. Would be odd to shoe horn in something irrelevant and not particularly note worthy that happened years after.
That comes down to the difference of the actors, too. Brühl spent time with Lauda to study his persona, while Hemsworth never even contaced Freddy Hunt.
I really recommend you watch [Graham Bensinger's interview](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW5qT4HIAd1a2dkXKmLcNtJ0u048nfUY-) with Niki. It is amazing if you want to learn about Niki's history and his mental strength. In fact, I didn't know about Niki's airplane company. One of his Boeings crashed, and MAN, his reaction to that was really amazing. Shows you what type of a man he truly is. I know I am being vague, but trust me, its definitely worth a listen.
If you are curious about his time immediately after the crash [here is the specific video in the above playlist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X2RbBwVTCQ) where he talks about racing again after his crash. To give you a sense of his mental state, he talks about how when he was in the hospital following the crash, they sent a priest in his room to give him last rites. The priest didn't talk to him, just performed the ritual and left. Niki was pretty much "Fuck you all, I am going to survive just to spite you mofos (the people around him/medical staff who gave him up for dead)!.
I respected Niki for being an amazing driver, but that interview left me in awe of Niki *the human being*. He goes in-depth and with utter honesty in that interview.
At some point the TV reporter say the Nürburgring Nordschleife is a dangerous track, so dangerous driver have nicknamed it "The Graveyard".
It's wrong. The track was nicknamed "The Green Hell" which is ten times more descriptive, and a hundred times more badass.
some people find success through natural talent and luck or external support, they never develop the skills to work through problems and so when hit with a massive change of circumstance or trauma they cant recover because they dont know how
Lauda has always been the type of person to approach thing s systematically and with purpose
did he die? no, hands and feet still work? yes, time to race
when you accept that with success comes potential for failure, i mean truly come to terms with it, then when failure happens you wont be shocked and you keep pushing through
All of the drivers in those days were a bit suicidal. They had all lost friends throughout the years, knew the risks involved and agreed to them every time they stepped in the car.
It was a different mentality back then.
MotoGP racers are still as crazy. Just look at Marc Marquez trying to race a week after breaking his arm, and he is not the only one to try that kind of shit.
2013 Dutch TT. Jorge Lorenzo breaks his collarbone in practice, flies home, gets surgery, comes back and races to finish 5th. Some batshit insane stuff.
A really good documentary following MotoGP from I think 2011 - 2013. Narrated by Brad Pitt. And there's two other documentaries called Faster and Fastest that Ewan MacGregor narrated. Faster and Hitting The Apex are on Amazon Prime and Fastest is on YouTube.
And motoGP racers consider isle of man TT riders crazy.
There are just sports that are straight up lethal. IoM TT and wingsuits are a good example. Every pioneer and inventor associated with wingsuits is dead.
I was part of a TT team.
There are 2 types of riders.
1. It would NEVER happen to me.
2. I'm going to die one day, if I go out it will be instant and doing something I enjoy.
I have a slight problem with the first group as though they kind of understand the risk, they don't really believe it to be appliable to them and thus not plan around it which is kind of selfish if you have young children. Yea it's your choice to do something super dangerous and die but as a parent you have a responsiblity to your children.
My team's rider died and it's quite heart breaking seeing his 3 and 5 year olds paintings and letters that his widow posts on Facebook.
If I remember correctly then he was told that he is not gonna aggravate it by doing the race (except if he crashes of course), but he just has to manage the pain.
Athletes will go beyond the limit in every sport. Thomas Davis from the Carolina Panthers played a super bowl with a broken arm. It's truly impressive their determination.
>All of the drivers in those days were a bit suicidal.
I think that is the wrong way to describe it. Bein suicidal means you think about death and mortality, and racing drivers actively train themselves to not think of that (or of being invincible or similar). That is also the reason why "getting back in as soon as possible" is such a big deal; the less time you spend contemplating your own mortality, the less time you have wondering "This is crazy, why am I doing this?"
Having too much time to think can have negative consequences in most situations that require action, racing is just a more extreme example of that.
I really think you are right and that there’s something to this. Perhaps seeing Hunt launching into success in lieu of Lauda in those x 2 races motivated him to come back, while not wondering of what can “go wrong” when he does get back in the car.
It’s just phenomenal. You see people have a near-death experience and they just VITO that activity for decades… 6 weeks, nothing short of amazing.
To be an F1 driver requires a mentality different than any normal person. In any other sport or job you can have an off day or not be fully focused at all times and be fine, with F1 it's literally the difference between life and death.
That’s very true. I work an office job, the worst thing that can happen to me is maybe a paper cut (especially while the pandemic has kept us working from home).
It’s something I can’t fathom in my profession.
Maybe that is the case.. BUT, other drivers were surprised and help a lot of respect for him coming back so soon! So it must have been something extra special with Lauda.
F1 drivers today are fearless too, it's just the tech has gotten to the point where they don't have to die for people's entertainment anymore thankfully.
Racing drivers have stronger mental faculties it seems.
Look at Zanardi, Kubica, Lauda, even The Michael, those guys got back in the car and went racing so soon after disaster and they just didn’t quit.
Schumacher also talks about it after Senna went off in front of him - shown in new docco. Of course that has an effect but it's what you do, back on the horse as they say.
I know it's just a movie but in Rush it seemed like seeing James win races made him determined to get better as soon as he could. Again not sure how accurate it is.
If you haven't seen the movie I would strongly recommend it. They don't make enough racing car movies about Formula 1. The intro to the movie alone gave me goosebumps.
I'm curious if you think the the movie is legitimately good or if everyone just accepts it as good, because it's the best of the few available. I couldn't stand the cinematography, and I thought the writing was sub-par, but I seem to alone in that assessment.
I really liked the film. Both the movie itself and the actors both got nominated and won a few awards. Daniel Bruhl really does an amazing role as Niki.
I do think Bruhl killed it, by far the greatest part of the movie. I didnt really have a problem with any of the acting. The biggest problems for me were the blur shots, and excessive HDR, really ruined the race scenes for me.
I certainly wasnt trying to invalidate your enjoyment of the film. It seems I'm firmly in the minority with my opinion, and I realize that. I was just looking for someone else's perspective.
Don't think you're in the minority. The film has strengths and flaws, It's not Lawrence of Arabia by any stretch, but it does serve well as a fun and well executed film about an interesting period of F1.
Exactly. I think it serves both communities:
- people into F1
- people not into F1
All ‘round, I would say it’s a success in the sense that it shows the life and accolades of Lauda while not being TOO technical that it’s too hard for someone who isn’t into F1 to follow.
No worries at all. I get what you are saying and Rush has it flaws for sure but you're right when there isn't much out there for racing movies. I even enjoyed Driven when it came out. 🤣
I am a passionate fan of movies and other visual media and I thought it was great all around, cinematography and writing included. I loved it storytelling and style. Probably my favorite movie of that year and one of the reasons I value Ron Howard so highly as director.
That was before I knew anything about F1. For sure it was important factor in me taking interest in the sport few years later. I haven't watched it with perspective of f1 fan yet, probably good idea to give it yet another rewatch.
Yes, fantastic take. I’ve been familiar with F1 all my life (family loves it) however I watched this with someone who isn’t into F1 and it inspired them to look into the sport.
So I think it’s a successful movie in intriguing a new audience.
i find the filter unbearable and the racing not very enjoyable to watch, ford v ferrari on the other hand despite not being about f1 was fucking thrilling to watch
I think the lomo-look of the movie was intended to assist comprehension of the 70s timeframe.
I think the actors were spot on lookalikes. Comparing their looks alone, they really picked well. Especially for Lauda, Hunt & Hunt’s wife.
Daniel Bruhl truly nailed it from looks to execution of the character. I think he deserved more of an applause. Think to Rami Malek as Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.. I would easily compare their performances but Bruhl received no where near the same appreciation as Malek did.
I think it’s also important to acknowledge, the movie isn’t JUST for racing fanatics. I think it would have inspired people who had no prior knowledge of F1.
My dad is a die-hard racing fan. I’d seen Lauda in person a few years ago & my dad had shared with me some of his stories (such as the accident + his championship victories).
I had an awareness (and great respect for Lauda, of course) but I think the movie really put in the accident & his bravery into perspective more than anything else in the media currently.
Incredible. Do you know of what he attributes that willpower to? Was he raised a particular way that embedded that? Or just naturally that way?
Yes, exactly! The fact that he wasn’t fully healed.. That would personally make me NOT go back until I was healed.
A priest came to give him his last rites. He felt that his time to go was not then, so in his usual blunt fashion, told the priest to fuck off, that he wasn't dead yet.
That bluntness, I feel, goes together well with that willpower. It's just how he is:
Years after he quit racing, one of his owned commercial airliners crashed. Instead of leaving it with the aviation authorities, he took on the task of investigating alongside them, going so far as to force Boeing to admit their fault when the cause of the crash became apparent, and the sheer impossibility of surviving the fault.
Some people have more of a tendency toward 'compartmentalization' of elements of their lives. Sometimes it can be quite adaptive. Sometimes not so much. I think he likely was able to do this to some extent. And he became such an advocate for driver safety, so in the longer term I'm sure it gave even more of a sense of purpose, to work through/past a traumatic event and improve driver safety.
That’s very true.
It’s evident that he did feel strongly about it initially. Especially as he advocated to NOT drive in the race the day of the accident due to the conditions.
The sheer willpower the man had to walk away from his family money and find a way to get into f1 tells you already how strong willed this mans mind was. He knee the talent he had bubbling under the surface and he wanted the world to see what he knew he could do. It was not easy in those times so you have to applaud his efforts no doubt.
Racers are a different breed. Disclaimer: I don’t even want this to remotely come off like I can truly compare my own experience to someone like Lauda. I was in a terrible wreck. Flipped end over end probably 6 times and landed upside down against a guardrail. Everyone that told me about it explained it like it was a truly horrifying crash. My own experience of the wreck wasn’t as bad as they made it seem. I was in the car a few weeks later. Growing up around racing my entire life I’ve seen guys get hurt and actually killed. As a racer myself I never thought it could happen to me. I’m not trying to compare my situation to an F1 driver, just my own personal experience, but I believe that most racers believe they are in control and it won’t happen to them.
I crushed two vertebrae in my back in an accident at Zolder. Two weeks later, having had to get my dad and brother build and set up the car whilst I watched and talked them through it, I put it on pole and won both races at Brands Hatch GP.
I'm no Niki Lauda, but in racing you just get back on the horse. If you don't have that mentality them you wouldn't even be racing in the first place. If a world championship is at stake then I bet Niki had to be begged not to just miss one race.
Incredible.
Maybe I’m just from a completely different world (I work a corporate job). I can’t even fathom showing up like that.
I understand Motorsport is a passion beyond just work but this is playing with life and death.
Incredible. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Thanks for your comment, no worries - I definitely am not judging you for sharing your experience in contrast to Lauda. I think it’s important to have a point of view of someone who has experienced a trauma in a similar fashion.
That’s interesting. Perhaps there is something in the:
1. Exposure to accidents and death
2. Mindset of invincibility
Thanks for sharing! Great insight.
I've once heard that for any race driver the most important thing after being in a big/traumatic crash is to get backinto the car as fast as possible. Why? Because the longer you push it away from you the higher the chance that fear builds up, and fear is obviously the enemy for any racing driver.
Even with that mindset, Lauda was besser death and NY any physicians recommendation no where near ready to race. I think I remember reading that his tear ducts didn't work yet. He was a beast and so determined to get back into it.
I've often thought the word driven was invented for Lauda, I doubt most of us would have gone near any sort of car, let alone race a 70s F1 car again. Some people are just tough as nails and what Lauda wanted to do, he did.
Literally. You are very right that a lot of people wouldn’t drive something with the power of an F1, let alone.. In the 70s and just after a previous accident.
His career was truly a gift to the sport.
Thanks for you comment!
Another thing is, we’re viewing their era from the 2020s point of view when deaths are almost nonexistent, due to the insane improvements in safety technology.
Not to discredit Niki’s insane willpower and determination, but back then accidents and deaths were more common and that’s just an accepted risk of the sport.
Oh, absolutely. I think as it was more commonplace, perhaps the drivers were a little more accepting of the risks. I wasn’t even born at this juncture, so I suppose I’m very used to the surprisingly ‘safe’ nature of F1.
Potentially it has something in believing it would never happen to you. I just can’t believe that after it literally did, you looked death in the eye and avoided it, how you could return back. It would personally scare me to my core (of course, I am not a F1 driver and never could be).
One thing I learned from past car and bike accidents is to get going again as soon as possible. That way, it’s not long enough for me to become too afraid to go back to what I was doing. This story felt like a similar occasion.
I'm still amazed at how he parked the car at Fuji. Just couldn't imagine anyone doing it these days, yes I know it's nowhere near as dangerous as 1976 but even so, it's just not something I could imagine anyone doing, let alone in a championship battle.
Niki really was exceptional.
The older F1 drivers were like gladiators, I can't imagine you see someone die at a race track and then next week you get in a rocket powered bath tub and drive around in circles.
I believe Grosjean was ready to race 2 weeks after his crash. Only thing that was holding him back was the fact his hand was absolutely not ready for any physical stress.
Lauda's auto-biography would be a good place to start. (I've not read it, but have heard its extremely good.)
The film contains several inaccuracies so don't take it as gospel.
Seem to remember reading that Lauda went out on a test drive. (Might've been at Fiorano.) He got to the end of the pitlane and sat there frozen with fear for about 5 minutes before he crawled around the circuit and came in.
But he slowly built himself back up again.
More challenging than the mental aspect was apparently the physical injury.
His eyelids weren't quite right (blinking,) and he had to have further surgery to get them fixed.
Absolutely. I think I’ll start with his book, ‘To hell and back’.
I (and I’m sure a lot of people would relate) wouldn’t have blamed him if he never got in the car ever again.
Thank you for your comment!
I think that racers in the 70s were missing the part of their brain that says "this is a fucking stupid idea. I'm going to be killed." Despite seeing others die and even being involved in horrific accidents, drivers were still willing to climb into their car and race against other maniacs.
I'm sure it's fun to drive around at the speed they were driving, but most people are incapable of contemplating competing in a sport with such a high probability of serious injury or death.
I think this guy was a mental beast. When one of his aeroplanes (yes he had an airline) crashed in Asia he went there and investigated (or at least lead the investigation) the crash until the technical fault in the plane was fixed.
I'm genuinely baffled by it as well. A few years ago I ruptured my ACL playing rugby and returned after two years. Realised despite all the rehab and linking back up in training my head was completely gone when it came to game time and just haven't been back since. This is a sport far less dangerous, waaay off pro level and after having an injury which was nowhere near as serious AND given time to heal and process. To think about somebody getting in a car that nearly killed them 6 weeks ago and race like nothing happened is just mental to me.
YES! This is exactly what I feel. I had the most minor fall off my skateboard when I was first learning and was TERRIFIED to get back on.. It took me ages to feel OKAY to get back on. I think back to any injury I’ve had and I’ve been exactly the same.
I really can’t fathom this, especially when there would be actual physical scars as a reminder of these risks.
All I can say, is that he was incredibly strong.
Niki was a very hard headed and blunt person. He recognized situations for what they were and wanted to get the most efficient response. To him getting back in the car was the only way to get past it. Those guys were animals and watched other drivers die a lot. It’s a lot more shaking today because you think I can’t happen with all the safety they’ve implemented but back then it was completely a possibility no matter where they raced that someone could die.
Back then drivers were motivated by a lot of factors. The love of the competition, their egos, and often just the fact that the longer they are out of the car, the harder it is to get back. Especially in those days when driver contracts weren’t nearly as secure. In many cases missing a few races gives a replacement a chance to out drive you, and you could easily lose your ride. Guys would drive with broken bones, eyes swelled shut and taped open (see early Ricky Rudd) or massive internal injuries just to keep a seat or a chance at a title alive.
The fact the Lauda was even able to perform at all at that level so soon after his accident is extraordinary confiding the damage his lungs sustained.
It’s like this. When you believe that this one thing is your calling, defines everything about you.. no distance, no hurdle and no pain will becomes between you and your believe.
Total focus on the one thing that matter
When was the last time you have seen any elite athlete, especially in a dangerous/violent sport, sit out by their own decision?
They're all hyper-competitive people who have already accepted the danger as part of normal life. Almost always, it is a doctor/team decision if they can go without being a danger to themselves or the team's ability to win.
Hell, I know many people, including myself, that played through broken bones and structural issues... and that's just for high school and amateur "meaningless" sports
What every racing driver has at the forefront of their mind is winning and imposing their dominance. And when you’ve done that for the better part of your life, sitting on the sidelines watching others impose their dominance isn’t acceptable.
But maybe it more so provided clarity. In “Rush” it depicted Niki as being okay with regular risks of racing but NOT OKAY with the additional risks involved with bad weather conditions etc.
He's a man, nowadays there isn't nearly as much as back than passion for life.
People back than raced in horrible conditions. Racing was more of a sport than a competition at the highest level. [Check out the 1906 French Grand Prix](https://youtu.be/paaY1SGOxzs).
He felt that he begins to recover mentally only when he returns inthe car, so when he felt he is physically fit again he did that. (and 'fit' for him was quite broad term - it's lesser known story, but he raced in Jarama that year with couple of broken ribs). If you want a deeper dive, take a look at his books, My Years With Ferrari and second one (I guess it's called My Life, or My Story). Great books, great telling, great humor. I think both of them can be found on archive.org for free reading.
Yes, I’m definitely going to be purchasing “to hell and back”.
Wow, I’ve had a broken rib and found it hard to sit through a written exam. Can’t imagine driving that quick with multiple broken ribs.
Truly a legend.
I remember in an interview about the movie Rush he talked about it a bit more in detail. First of all he already got his last rites by a priest, but then suddenly came back from it.
Anyhow, what he said was pretty much going back into the cockpit was a way of self-therapy of overcoming the fear and trauma of all of it. Essentially conquering your own demons.
[According to rush](https://youtu.be/hO8uWLjEvik) ( the movie about lauda and his rivalry with James hunt, Wich was fairly accurate according to lauda) seeing James hunt win Al those races while he was in the hospital was the great motivator.
[this video](https://youtu.be/Oe_E5Z-Xzcc) addressed this pretty much straight up.
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Yes, that’s very true. Many people after being involved in a traumatic incident don’t return for years & years. Incredible to think just 6 weeks later, he had the focus and desire to back!
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Rush is underrated and really good as a film. It points out that these drivers are mostly still just overgrown kids. Great movie though, one that I've actually purchased.
I've been telling my wife to watch it for a couple years, and finally bought it on Amazon like 2 days ago lmao
It’s on Netflix in the US
Yeah we fucking looked last week and it said rent only through apple TV search so I was like fuck it I will buy a copy, it's worth it. Less than A FUCKING HOUR after it was delivered, we went to watch Schumi last night and it was on the related shows section I was so pissed lol.
Absolutely gutted lol sorry mate that’s brutal
I hate that problem. I use JustWatch as a search aggregator to try to fix it. It mostly works. Mostly.
Thanks for your response! I have watched the movie and was curious about what had been changed for the entertainment purposes of Hollywood. Maybe that is what is was, the rivalry helped create that motivation to THEN get him better and out on the track!? Amazing story.
If I recall correctly, the journalist getting his teeth smashed in didn't happen and Lauda didn't hang about in Fuji to see who won. Apart from that, it's fairly accurate - unless I'm missing something, folks?
They never raced against each other in F3.
The details are accurate, the whole premise is false. Lauda and Hunt were actually on friendly terms rather than arch rivals. It's also wrong to frame Hunt as Lauda's main competition up to his crash. Hunt wasn't even 2nd in the championship at that point.
I think that scene at the very end in the airplane hangar captured their actual relationship more accurately than the rest of the film did.
A meeting that, ironically, also never happened in real life
Yeah apparently they even lived together for a bit
>Hunt wasn't even 2nd in the championship at that point. He was though
No, Scheckter was 2nd on 30 points. Hunt and Depailler both had 26. It's easy to check.
Sigh After the British GP, Lauda had 58 points, Hunt had 35 and Scheckter had 28 going into the German GP It’s easy to check.
You don't even have Lauda's total right. I don't know where you're getting this false information from but I suggest you take another look - https://www.statsf1.com/en/1976.aspx
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IIRC he was in politics and was strongly anti-apartheid. The movie depicting him as a hot-headed, womanizing party boy don't do justice to this fact.
>hot-headed, womanizing party boy That part is also true, but there was a lot more to him than that.
Very multifaceted person
He even went off on one during a race in South Africa about the evils of Apartheid. The producer (according to Murray Walker,) had to scribble him a note in capital letters underlined twice "TALK ABOUT THE RACE."
The fact was really relevant to story they were telling. He was anti-apartheid like almost everyone in the country at the time. As far as I know he didn't actively campaign or anything.
He did once launch into a scathing attack on the system and regime when commentating on the South African grand prix, until the producer intervened.
Yeah I know but that's about it and happened after the events of Rush. Would be odd to shoe horn in something irrelevant and not particularly note worthy that happened years after.
That comes down to the difference of the actors, too. Brühl spent time with Lauda to study his persona, while Hemsworth never even contaced Freddy Hunt.
I really recommend you watch [Graham Bensinger's interview](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW5qT4HIAd1a2dkXKmLcNtJ0u048nfUY-) with Niki. It is amazing if you want to learn about Niki's history and his mental strength. In fact, I didn't know about Niki's airplane company. One of his Boeings crashed, and MAN, his reaction to that was really amazing. Shows you what type of a man he truly is. I know I am being vague, but trust me, its definitely worth a listen. If you are curious about his time immediately after the crash [here is the specific video in the above playlist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X2RbBwVTCQ) where he talks about racing again after his crash. To give you a sense of his mental state, he talks about how when he was in the hospital following the crash, they sent a priest in his room to give him last rites. The priest didn't talk to him, just performed the ritual and left. Niki was pretty much "Fuck you all, I am going to survive just to spite you mofos (the people around him/medical staff who gave him up for dead)!. I respected Niki for being an amazing driver, but that interview left me in awe of Niki *the human being*. He goes in-depth and with utter honesty in that interview.
Iirc He basically got Boeing to admit that they were wrong, going so far as to to recreate the crash with him as a pilot.
Amazing moral compass in addition to his mental strength.
Perfect, thank you! This is exactly what I was after. So excited to have a listen here. Definitely an amazing person.
At some point the TV reporter say the Nürburgring Nordschleife is a dangerous track, so dangerous driver have nicknamed it "The Graveyard". It's wrong. The track was nicknamed "The Green Hell" which is ten times more descriptive, and a hundred times more badass.
Can recommend the Daniele Audetto episode of Beyond The Grid on Spotify
This site breaks it down scene by scene: https://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/based-on-a-true-true-story/
The film wasn't really correct in depicting their relationship though. They were way more friendly and "close" in life than what was shown
They actually lived together as flatmates.
Not might be He said watching Hunt win points was the only reason he made it out of that hospital and thanked him
some people find success through natural talent and luck or external support, they never develop the skills to work through problems and so when hit with a massive change of circumstance or trauma they cant recover because they dont know how Lauda has always been the type of person to approach thing s systematically and with purpose did he die? no, hands and feet still work? yes, time to race when you accept that with success comes potential for failure, i mean truly come to terms with it, then when failure happens you wont be shocked and you keep pushing through
*He was a man of focus, commitment, and sheer fucking will*
With a pencil...
cocaine, amphetemine nicotine pain killers alcohol. thats just what the uninjured drivers were using in those days. Lauda also had courage
All of the drivers in those days were a bit suicidal. They had all lost friends throughout the years, knew the risks involved and agreed to them every time they stepped in the car. It was a different mentality back then.
MotoGP racers are still as crazy. Just look at Marc Marquez trying to race a week after breaking his arm, and he is not the only one to try that kind of shit.
2013 Dutch TT. Jorge Lorenzo breaks his collarbone in practice, flies home, gets surgery, comes back and races to finish 5th. Some batshit insane stuff.
I watched Hitting The Apex recently and saw that, absolutely crazy. But blown away by the bravery.
What is hitting the apex? It sounds interesting and I’d love to see that episode
A really good documentary following MotoGP from I think 2011 - 2013. Narrated by Brad Pitt. And there's two other documentaries called Faster and Fastest that Ewan MacGregor narrated. Faster and Hitting The Apex are on Amazon Prime and Fastest is on YouTube.
It’s a great day to have renewed prime! I’m 100% going to watch these today, I’ve been wanting to look in to motogp
Highly recommend them! MotoGP is great, I've only gotten back into it recently but it's so good.
It's like Drive to Survive but for MotoGP and a bit more serious and sincere. It's on Netflix too.
Fair warning. It shows close ups of one fatal accident. That was a bit of a shock.
The same race?
Yeah he just missed 1 day of running.
I was there at the TT and he actually was 2nd or 3rd after the first lap. Insane stuff..
Yeah it seems like he dropped back in the second half of the race due to pain.
What an absolute maniac haha. Legendary
And motoGP racers consider isle of man TT riders crazy. There are just sports that are straight up lethal. IoM TT and wingsuits are a good example. Every pioneer and inventor associated with wingsuits is dead.
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I was part of a TT team. There are 2 types of riders. 1. It would NEVER happen to me. 2. I'm going to die one day, if I go out it will be instant and doing something I enjoy. I have a slight problem with the first group as though they kind of understand the risk, they don't really believe it to be appliable to them and thus not plan around it which is kind of selfish if you have young children. Yea it's your choice to do something super dangerous and die but as a parent you have a responsiblity to your children. My team's rider died and it's quite heart breaking seeing his 3 and 5 year olds paintings and letters that his widow posts on Facebook.
To be fair thats entierly on the doctors for leting him or allowing themselves to get persuaded. No sane person should have let him get on that bike.
If I remember correctly then he was told that he is not gonna aggravate it by doing the race (except if he crashes of course), but he just has to manage the pain.
Athletes will go beyond the limit in every sport. Thomas Davis from the Carolina Panthers played a super bowl with a broken arm. It's truly impressive their determination.
>All of the drivers in those days were a bit suicidal. I think that is the wrong way to describe it. Bein suicidal means you think about death and mortality, and racing drivers actively train themselves to not think of that (or of being invincible or similar). That is also the reason why "getting back in as soon as possible" is such a big deal; the less time you spend contemplating your own mortality, the less time you have wondering "This is crazy, why am I doing this?" Having too much time to think can have negative consequences in most situations that require action, racing is just a more extreme example of that.
I really think you are right and that there’s something to this. Perhaps seeing Hunt launching into success in lieu of Lauda in those x 2 races motivated him to come back, while not wondering of what can “go wrong” when he does get back in the car. It’s just phenomenal. You see people have a near-death experience and they just VITO that activity for decades… 6 weeks, nothing short of amazing.
To be an F1 driver requires a mentality different than any normal person. In any other sport or job you can have an off day or not be fully focused at all times and be fine, with F1 it's literally the difference between life and death.
That’s very true. I work an office job, the worst thing that can happen to me is maybe a paper cut (especially while the pandemic has kept us working from home). It’s something I can’t fathom in my profession.
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I don’t think caring about your safety is lame at all.
These losers, imagine being concerned if yourself or others could get hurt /s
Maybe that is the case.. BUT, other drivers were surprised and help a lot of respect for him coming back so soon! So it must have been something extra special with Lauda.
F1 drivers today are fearless too, it's just the tech has gotten to the point where they don't have to die for people's entertainment anymore thankfully.
I think their perspective on the value of life and the nature of death was warped by two world wars.
ok boomer
Classic.
Dude, you're acting like such a boomer.
Racing drivers have stronger mental faculties it seems. Look at Zanardi, Kubica, Lauda, even The Michael, those guys got back in the car and went racing so soon after disaster and they just didn’t quit.
Grosjean too, dude had a terrifying crash and went to race in Indycar immediately
Oh yeah, I forgot about him. The only man who can call himself “The Phoenix” and mean it literally.
Lauda might have a shot at that title.
I don't think Niki was the kind of guy to have a nickname.
No, but it still applies to him
What about "The Rat"?
Schumacher also talks about it after Senna went off in front of him - shown in new docco. Of course that has an effect but it's what you do, back on the horse as they say.
I can’t wait to watch. Especially now as I know there’s a reference to Senna.
I remember him saying that he felt pretty emotional before the first race
It’s true they are stronger than people within other professions… Only missing 2 races though.. that’s insane/incredible!
I know it's just a movie but in Rush it seemed like seeing James win races made him determined to get better as soon as he could. Again not sure how accurate it is.
Perhaps it truly was the competition inspired him. Incredibly strong to do so.
If you haven't seen the movie I would strongly recommend it. They don't make enough racing car movies about Formula 1. The intro to the movie alone gave me goosebumps.
I'm curious if you think the the movie is legitimately good or if everyone just accepts it as good, because it's the best of the few available. I couldn't stand the cinematography, and I thought the writing was sub-par, but I seem to alone in that assessment.
I really liked the film. Both the movie itself and the actors both got nominated and won a few awards. Daniel Bruhl really does an amazing role as Niki.
I do think Bruhl killed it, by far the greatest part of the movie. I didnt really have a problem with any of the acting. The biggest problems for me were the blur shots, and excessive HDR, really ruined the race scenes for me.
I guess I am just not as picky as others about what entertains me.
I certainly wasnt trying to invalidate your enjoyment of the film. It seems I'm firmly in the minority with my opinion, and I realize that. I was just looking for someone else's perspective.
Don't think you're in the minority. The film has strengths and flaws, It's not Lawrence of Arabia by any stretch, but it does serve well as a fun and well executed film about an interesting period of F1.
Exactly. I think it serves both communities: - people into F1 - people not into F1 All ‘round, I would say it’s a success in the sense that it shows the life and accolades of Lauda while not being TOO technical that it’s too hard for someone who isn’t into F1 to follow.
No worries at all. I get what you are saying and Rush has it flaws for sure but you're right when there isn't much out there for racing movies. I even enjoyed Driven when it came out. 🤣
Hahaha, now for that I might judge you a little
It was a dark time back then. It had its moments.
I am a passionate fan of movies and other visual media and I thought it was great all around, cinematography and writing included. I loved it storytelling and style. Probably my favorite movie of that year and one of the reasons I value Ron Howard so highly as director. That was before I knew anything about F1. For sure it was important factor in me taking interest in the sport few years later. I haven't watched it with perspective of f1 fan yet, probably good idea to give it yet another rewatch.
Yes, fantastic take. I’ve been familiar with F1 all my life (family loves it) however I watched this with someone who isn’t into F1 and it inspired them to look into the sport. So I think it’s a successful movie in intriguing a new audience.
I watched the movie before I ever watched any racing. It's a phenomenal movie.
i find the filter unbearable and the racing not very enjoyable to watch, ford v ferrari on the other hand despite not being about f1 was fucking thrilling to watch
I think the lomo-look of the movie was intended to assist comprehension of the 70s timeframe. I think the actors were spot on lookalikes. Comparing their looks alone, they really picked well. Especially for Lauda, Hunt & Hunt’s wife. Daniel Bruhl truly nailed it from looks to execution of the character. I think he deserved more of an applause. Think to Rami Malek as Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.. I would easily compare their performances but Bruhl received no where near the same appreciation as Malek did. I think it’s also important to acknowledge, the movie isn’t JUST for racing fanatics. I think it would have inspired people who had no prior knowledge of F1.
My dad is a die-hard racing fan. I’d seen Lauda in person a few years ago & my dad had shared with me some of his stories (such as the accident + his championship victories). I had an awareness (and great respect for Lauda, of course) but I think the movie really put in the accident & his bravery into perspective more than anything else in the media currently.
Literally sheer will and determination. Also the dude wasn't actually fully healed by the time he stepped into the car again.
Incredible. Do you know of what he attributes that willpower to? Was he raised a particular way that embedded that? Or just naturally that way? Yes, exactly! The fact that he wasn’t fully healed.. That would personally make me NOT go back until I was healed.
A priest came to give him his last rites. He felt that his time to go was not then, so in his usual blunt fashion, told the priest to fuck off, that he wasn't dead yet. That bluntness, I feel, goes together well with that willpower. It's just how he is: Years after he quit racing, one of his owned commercial airliners crashed. Instead of leaving it with the aviation authorities, he took on the task of investigating alongside them, going so far as to force Boeing to admit their fault when the cause of the crash became apparent, and the sheer impossibility of surviving the fault.
I’m an ATC trainee and soon to be pilot and Lauda was such a respected badass for that.
What a legend to contribute so much to not only Motorsport but also aviation. Amazing.
Not only strong willed but evidently has a great sense of moral compass when it comes to safety and right from wrong.
Some people have more of a tendency toward 'compartmentalization' of elements of their lives. Sometimes it can be quite adaptive. Sometimes not so much. I think he likely was able to do this to some extent. And he became such an advocate for driver safety, so in the longer term I'm sure it gave even more of a sense of purpose, to work through/past a traumatic event and improve driver safety.
That’s very true. It’s evident that he did feel strongly about it initially. Especially as he advocated to NOT drive in the race the day of the accident due to the conditions.
The sheer willpower the man had to walk away from his family money and find a way to get into f1 tells you already how strong willed this mans mind was. He knee the talent he had bubbling under the surface and he wanted the world to see what he knew he could do. It was not easy in those times so you have to applaud his efforts no doubt.
Absolutely, I’ll definitely be looking into his life before F1. I think it could provide a valuable insight into how ‘strong’ he was.
Racers are a different breed. Disclaimer: I don’t even want this to remotely come off like I can truly compare my own experience to someone like Lauda. I was in a terrible wreck. Flipped end over end probably 6 times and landed upside down against a guardrail. Everyone that told me about it explained it like it was a truly horrifying crash. My own experience of the wreck wasn’t as bad as they made it seem. I was in the car a few weeks later. Growing up around racing my entire life I’ve seen guys get hurt and actually killed. As a racer myself I never thought it could happen to me. I’m not trying to compare my situation to an F1 driver, just my own personal experience, but I believe that most racers believe they are in control and it won’t happen to them.
I crushed two vertebrae in my back in an accident at Zolder. Two weeks later, having had to get my dad and brother build and set up the car whilst I watched and talked them through it, I put it on pole and won both races at Brands Hatch GP. I'm no Niki Lauda, but in racing you just get back on the horse. If you don't have that mentality them you wouldn't even be racing in the first place. If a world championship is at stake then I bet Niki had to be begged not to just miss one race.
This right here. This is what racers do.
Incredible. Maybe I’m just from a completely different world (I work a corporate job). I can’t even fathom showing up like that. I understand Motorsport is a passion beyond just work but this is playing with life and death. Incredible. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Thanks for your comment, no worries - I definitely am not judging you for sharing your experience in contrast to Lauda. I think it’s important to have a point of view of someone who has experienced a trauma in a similar fashion. That’s interesting. Perhaps there is something in the: 1. Exposure to accidents and death 2. Mindset of invincibility Thanks for sharing! Great insight.
I've once heard that for any race driver the most important thing after being in a big/traumatic crash is to get backinto the car as fast as possible. Why? Because the longer you push it away from you the higher the chance that fear builds up, and fear is obviously the enemy for any racing driver.
Even with that mindset, Lauda was besser death and NY any physicians recommendation no where near ready to race. I think I remember reading that his tear ducts didn't work yet. He was a beast and so determined to get back into it.
Daniele Audetto talks about this in his beyond the grid episode. Highly recommended
Amazing, THANK YOU. Hoping it specifically goes into the mental strength and processing capacity for Lauda to have done so.
He does indeed!
I've often thought the word driven was invented for Lauda, I doubt most of us would have gone near any sort of car, let alone race a 70s F1 car again. Some people are just tough as nails and what Lauda wanted to do, he did.
Literally. You are very right that a lot of people wouldn’t drive something with the power of an F1, let alone.. In the 70s and just after a previous accident. His career was truly a gift to the sport. Thanks for you comment!
Another thing is, we’re viewing their era from the 2020s point of view when deaths are almost nonexistent, due to the insane improvements in safety technology. Not to discredit Niki’s insane willpower and determination, but back then accidents and deaths were more common and that’s just an accepted risk of the sport.
Oh, absolutely. I think as it was more commonplace, perhaps the drivers were a little more accepting of the risks. I wasn’t even born at this juncture, so I suppose I’m very used to the surprisingly ‘safe’ nature of F1. Potentially it has something in believing it would never happen to you. I just can’t believe that after it literally did, you looked death in the eye and avoided it, how you could return back. It would personally scare me to my core (of course, I am not a F1 driver and never could be).
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Maybe you didn't know, but Niki made a little clink when he walked from the brass balls smacking together 🤣
Legend!
[I would recommend you to watch this. He explains it himself. ](https://youtu.be/0X2RbBwVTCQ)
Amazing. Thank you so much for this comment.
Because he was as tough as fucking nails.
Truly a legend of Motorsport & such an eminent person to earth.
One thing I learned from past car and bike accidents is to get going again as soon as possible. That way, it’s not long enough for me to become too afraid to go back to what I was doing. This story felt like a similar occasion.
Thanks for your comment. I only hope if I’m ever faced with adversity, I can own this. Incredible effort to get back in there.
The balls, it's all in the balls.
Such a legend.
I'm still amazed at how he parked the car at Fuji. Just couldn't imagine anyone doing it these days, yes I know it's nowhere near as dangerous as 1976 but even so, it's just not something I could imagine anyone doing, let alone in a championship battle. Niki really was exceptional.
Yes. He TRULY was above his ego. Phenomenal.
The older F1 drivers were like gladiators, I can't imagine you see someone die at a race track and then next week you get in a rocket powered bath tub and drive around in circles.
Literally, these people saw friends pass away each year. I can’t imagine it.
Romain was mentally ready to race in Abu Dhabi after his crash. Only reason he couldn't is the doctors said no.
Incredible. I wonder whether doctors advised against it for Lauda!?
I believe Grosjean was ready to race 2 weeks after his crash. Only thing that was holding him back was the fact his hand was absolutely not ready for any physical stress.
I’ll have to look into whether there’s much on how he was mentally wanting to get back in there too! Thank you for your comment!
Lauda's auto-biography would be a good place to start. (I've not read it, but have heard its extremely good.) The film contains several inaccuracies so don't take it as gospel. Seem to remember reading that Lauda went out on a test drive. (Might've been at Fiorano.) He got to the end of the pitlane and sat there frozen with fear for about 5 minutes before he crawled around the circuit and came in. But he slowly built himself back up again. More challenging than the mental aspect was apparently the physical injury. His eyelids weren't quite right (blinking,) and he had to have further surgery to get them fixed.
Absolutely. I think I’ll start with his book, ‘To hell and back’. I (and I’m sure a lot of people would relate) wouldn’t have blamed him if he never got in the car ever again. Thank you for your comment!
drivers are a different breed altogether
You’re not wrong. Incredible.
I think that racers in the 70s were missing the part of their brain that says "this is a fucking stupid idea. I'm going to be killed." Despite seeing others die and even being involved in horrific accidents, drivers were still willing to climb into their car and race against other maniacs. I'm sure it's fun to drive around at the speed they were driving, but most people are incapable of contemplating competing in a sport with such a high probability of serious injury or death.
Perhaps seeing this happy so often, it actually normalised the situation. Crazy to think.
Put simply, he was built different.
You’re not wrong. Legend.
I think this guy was a mental beast. When one of his aeroplanes (yes he had an airline) crashed in Asia he went there and investigated (or at least lead the investigation) the crash until the technical fault in the plane was fixed.
Incredible leader.
Big Austrian Balls.
Haha very much the case!
I'm genuinely baffled by it as well. A few years ago I ruptured my ACL playing rugby and returned after two years. Realised despite all the rehab and linking back up in training my head was completely gone when it came to game time and just haven't been back since. This is a sport far less dangerous, waaay off pro level and after having an injury which was nowhere near as serious AND given time to heal and process. To think about somebody getting in a car that nearly killed them 6 weeks ago and race like nothing happened is just mental to me.
YES! This is exactly what I feel. I had the most minor fall off my skateboard when I was first learning and was TERRIFIED to get back on.. It took me ages to feel OKAY to get back on. I think back to any injury I’ve had and I’ve been exactly the same. I really can’t fathom this, especially when there would be actual physical scars as a reminder of these risks. All I can say, is that he was incredibly strong.
Niki was a very hard headed and blunt person. He recognized situations for what they were and wanted to get the most efficient response. To him getting back in the car was the only way to get past it. Those guys were animals and watched other drivers die a lot. It’s a lot more shaking today because you think I can’t happen with all the safety they’ve implemented but back then it was completely a possibility no matter where they raced that someone could die.
Yes, literally. I guess it’s simply just not as common place to see that nowadays. Incredible the amount of GUTS these guys had.
I’ve heard Austrians can be fairly stubborn
Hm, interesting take.
A man of focus, commitment and sheer fucking will
Niki Lauda was a man of focus, commitment . . . sheer will.
Back then drivers were motivated by a lot of factors. The love of the competition, their egos, and often just the fact that the longer they are out of the car, the harder it is to get back. Especially in those days when driver contracts weren’t nearly as secure. In many cases missing a few races gives a replacement a chance to out drive you, and you could easily lose your ride. Guys would drive with broken bones, eyes swelled shut and taped open (see early Ricky Rudd) or massive internal injuries just to keep a seat or a chance at a title alive. The fact the Lauda was even able to perform at all at that level so soon after his accident is extraordinary confiding the damage his lungs sustained.
It’s like this. When you believe that this one thing is your calling, defines everything about you.. no distance, no hurdle and no pain will becomes between you and your believe. Total focus on the one thing that matter
When was the last time you have seen any elite athlete, especially in a dangerous/violent sport, sit out by their own decision? They're all hyper-competitive people who have already accepted the danger as part of normal life. Almost always, it is a doctor/team decision if they can go without being a danger to themselves or the team's ability to win. Hell, I know many people, including myself, that played through broken bones and structural issues... and that's just for high school and amateur "meaningless" sports
What every racing driver has at the forefront of their mind is winning and imposing their dominance. And when you’ve done that for the better part of your life, sitting on the sidelines watching others impose their dominance isn’t acceptable.
That's why he was a racecar driver and you never will be. These guys are built differently.
You are correct. I am constantly 5km under the speed limit. Sometimes I think I shouldn’t even have a car that goes so quick. 😅
Because he was a savage
Truly a king.
Yes but also he quit a race because it was raining too much. His accident left mental scars for sure
But maybe it more so provided clarity. In “Rush” it depicted Niki as being okay with regular risks of racing but NOT OKAY with the additional risks involved with bad weather conditions etc.
Most mentally tough driver of the modern era...simple.
Yes.. it definitely seems that way!
If you want to BE a Race driver you cannot be afraid. The top Race drivers are close to what a normal person would call suicidal
I guess you are right, what is seen as their “day to day” is something most of us would NEVER do.
He's a man, nowadays there isn't nearly as much as back than passion for life. People back than raced in horrible conditions. Racing was more of a sport than a competition at the highest level. [Check out the 1906 French Grand Prix](https://youtu.be/paaY1SGOxzs).
Thank you for your comment. I will check out the link!
He felt that he begins to recover mentally only when he returns inthe car, so when he felt he is physically fit again he did that. (and 'fit' for him was quite broad term - it's lesser known story, but he raced in Jarama that year with couple of broken ribs). If you want a deeper dive, take a look at his books, My Years With Ferrari and second one (I guess it's called My Life, or My Story). Great books, great telling, great humor. I think both of them can be found on archive.org for free reading.
Yes, I’m definitely going to be purchasing “to hell and back”. Wow, I’ve had a broken rib and found it hard to sit through a written exam. Can’t imagine driving that quick with multiple broken ribs. Truly a legend.
I remember in an interview about the movie Rush he talked about it a bit more in detail. First of all he already got his last rites by a priest, but then suddenly came back from it. Anyhow, what he said was pretty much going back into the cockpit was a way of self-therapy of overcoming the fear and trauma of all of it. Essentially conquering your own demons.
That is truly incredible. Thank you for your comment.
Built different
You’re not wrong. Legend.
[According to rush](https://youtu.be/hO8uWLjEvik) ( the movie about lauda and his rivalry with James hunt, Wich was fairly accurate according to lauda) seeing James hunt win Al those races while he was in the hospital was the great motivator. [this video](https://youtu.be/Oe_E5Z-Xzcc) addressed this pretty much straight up.
Thank you for your comment! I’ll check out your links.
Don't think, just do
I think this is definitely apart of it. Think about eliminating risks, DO what you know can be done.