Many fans don’t remember a time when the Mercedes was not dominating F1, and rightfully so, as 8-consecutive titles are a monumental effort. Often, it is Lewis Hamilton who gets accredited for this triumph. However, it was the red star of the Silver Arrows, Niki Lauda, who is the unsung hero behind this success.

Presently, Hamilton and Wolff are a feature of the Brackley outfit, because of the decision made by Lauda in the team’s formative years. These decisions helped the team to piece the puzzle for years of dominion to follow.

The Austrian was a three-time world champion and brought his years of expertise to Mercedes. The Hunt-Lauda rivalry was an infamous feat of the F1 grid during the 1970s, and the two rivals were poles apart. However, while performing his media duties, Hamilton made an astounding claim that categorized the two F1 legends to be in the same boat.

Hamilton said, “the movie, you know in the movie when he watched, is it rush? which is kinda neat. I remember how nervous he was about, about it’s like and he did a screening and, Nurburgring I think, years ago.” 

“But, I love how it did it, he came across in that movie as how serious he was as a racing driver, went to bed early, and all these different things. But, then you hear all the stories he tells you and he’s a completely, you know he’s just as bad as James Hunt.”

The Brit couldn’t help but chuckle, as he added, “Maybe not the drinking, but he was, um”

“I don’t know what you mean, no, no,” Wolff insisted.

Lewis Hamilton Reveals His Sole Purpose in F1: “It’s Not About the Championship…”

“No, no, you know I can’t say” concluded Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton pays tribute to Niki Lauda

In 2007, the British racing driver debuted in F1 while racing for the McLaren team. The Woking outfit was at top of its game and even helped Hamilton claim his maiden world title in 2008. However, the fairytale did not last long as over the years the team failed to replicate its success and that resulted in costing them the Briton’s signature.

Hamilton’s contract concluded at the end of the 2012 season and Mercedes showed keenness in getting him onboard. Nevertheless, it was difficult to convince him to leave a proven team who has shown him the highs of F1 and jump onboard with a team who is yet to show its true pace.

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Enter Niki Lauda. In an interview, the 37-year-old shared how Lauda was persistent to make him a feature of the German camp.

He said, “Probably the most fond memories I have are from my first conversations. We started talking some time in 2012 and I just remember being home during the day, having a call from Niki and he is trying to convince me to come to the team. It was very cool to have a call from a world champion and an icon like Niki.”

“He was such a positive, funny, entertaining guy, he always had the greatest stories to tell. He was a natural born racer, he was always thinking about how we can improve.”

“The greatest sign from Niki was if you did the job, he would take off his hat. That was for him saying: Well done!”

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Do you think Mercedes would not have been the same without Lewis Hamilton? Let us know.