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Niki Lauda

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The Resume

    (February 22, 1949-May 20, 2019)
    Born in Vienna, Austria
    Birth name is Andreas Nikolaus Lauda
    ZBRDC International Trophy winner (1975)
    Procar BMW M1 Champion (1979)
    Formula One World Champion (1975, 1977, 1984)
    Author of the books 'The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving' (1975), 'My Years With Ferrari' (1978), 'The New Formula One: A Turbo Age' (1984), 'To Hell and Back' (1986) and 'Das dritte Leben' (1996)
    Founder of the Lauda Air company (1985-2013)

Why he might be annoying:

    He goes by the name 'Niki,' which is a commonly used name for females.
    He pursued a career in auto racing against his family's wishes.
    He went by the nicknames 'Super Rat' and 'King Rat' as a result of his buck teeth.
    He contemplated suicide after he got himself into deep financial debt due to the failure of his initial racing venture, only to take out a third bank loan to finance his way onto the BRM racing team.
    Despite not racing since the 1980's, he still allows sponsors to pay him to advertise their products on his baseball caps.
    He ended up divorcing his wife of 20 years after it was revealed he had an affair in which he fathered a son out of wedlock.
    He married his second wife, who is 30 years younger and became the father of twins at the age of 60.
    He drew the ire of many after he called Robert Kubica a 'polacke' (Polish cockroach in German) on the air during the Monaco Grand Prix (2010).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He so impressed Enzo Ferrari with his skill that Ferrari signed him to a contract paying enough money to settle his outstanding debts.
    He would often unselfishly donate his trophies he won in competitions to his local garage in exchange for free service work on his race car.
    He was involved in a near-fatal accident at Nürburgring, when he was trapped in his burning vehicle after losing control on the second lap of the German Grand Prix (1976).
    He suffered third and fourth degree burns to his head and scalp, and nearly died from inhaling the toxic gases which in turn caused permanent damage to his respiratory system.
    He began wearing his trademark baseball cap in order to cover the visible scars on his scalp.
    He returned to racing six weeks after his near fatal crash.
    He spoke extremely highly of former teammate James Hunt and cited his sadness over Hunt's passing, claiming Hunt was one of his closest friends and considered him the only one he envied.
    He was portrayed by Daniel Brühl in Ron Howard's 2013 film 'Rush' which chronicled his and James Hunt's 1976 Formula One season.

Credit: Ricky


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 20 Votes: 45.00% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 55 Votes: 50.91% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 15 Votes: 46.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 16 Votes: 56.25% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying