Wolff: Lauda taught me to "never give up"
Wolff: Lauda taught me to "never give up"
Mercedes Formula 1 team principal Toto Wolff has touchingly remembered Niki Lauda a year on from his death, describing the three-time champion as "my business partner, my travel companion, my sounding board, my coach".
On May 20, 2019, Lauda passed away following a period of ill health. After working closely with each other over the years, Wolff and Lauda had built a strong relationship.
Sharing some of the wisdom passed on by his fellow Austrian, Wolff said: "What did I learn from Niki? So much. From a personal standpoint, it is to never give up. Don’t ask for understanding, just get things done.
"Niki never complained. He was somebody that would be in pain and go through struggle, but he just sorted it out. The adversity that was thrown at him and the way that he coped with it is something that I really admired.
"Through the years our relationship developed, and I think we learned a lot from each other because we were so different, but his input and him being a sparring partner, a sounding board, and most important a friend, that would be with me, and in a hostile environment that is something I tremendously miss.
"But probably the most impressive personality trait was to never complain. Niki had so much adversity to overcome but you never heard one word of complaining and that is something that was truly admirable.
"Niki inspired me with his personality, with his resilient approach to things and also the way he was able to reinvent himself. He became a racing driver, created an airline, back to racing driver back to an airline and then heading the supervisory board of Mercedes Grand Prix – that is an amazing career."
Wolff has frequently stated that he never looks back at past results, electing only to look forward at races yet to happen, a trait he shared with Lauda, and one he believes aided their personal relationship.
"I think we have a lot of similarities," continued Wolff. "I am never looking back and I am not interested in the past race results and he wasn’t either. It is just today and tomorrow.
"I wish he would be around because we all miss him so much as a friend. I lost my business partner, my travel companion, my sounding board, my coach and we all in the team miss him tremendously."
Before you go...
How Hamilton is coping with his "shock to the system" of no Formula 1
Hamilton mourns Lauda a year on from three-time champion's death
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Adrian Newey: The life and career of Red Bull's motorsport Michelangelo
- 22 minutes ago
Sky Sports F1 pundit dumbfounded by key Ferrari decision
- 57 minutes ago
- 2
Newey set to announce STUNNING Red Bull departure
- 1 hour ago
Talented young F1 prodigy set to make series DEBUT
- 2 hours ago
F1 champion reveals 'painful' contract clause that cost him HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
- 3 hours ago
F1 legend's ICONIC car put up for sale in UK
- Today 14:57
Related news
Mercedes star tipped to replace struggling driver THIS season
Hamilton car camera captures Verstappen's TRUE feelings toward F1 rival
Marko reveals Vettel requirements for stunning F1 comeback
Fierce Hamilton F1 rival raises timing issue for Ferrari move
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860