When it comes to vintage Formula 1, one of the first names that comes to mind is Niki Lauda. Lauda had won 3 world championships in his lifetime, but his claim to fame remains his 1976 crash in Germany. Such was his cult status that he had quite a list of celebrities that attended his funeral in 2019.

Niki Lauda had a horrific crash in 1976 at Nurburgring that saw his car burst into flames. Many believed the then-Ferrari man’s burns were too severe and his F1 career was over. However, Lauda surprised everyone when he made a return just 6 weeks after the incident with his wounds still not perfectly healed.

The list of celebrities that attended Niki Lauda’s memorial service

Niki Lauda, despite missing a chunk of races in the 1976 season, lost out on the championship to James Hunt by just a single point. The season was so legendary that they made a movie on it named Rush. The movie, starring Daniel Bruhl, Chris Hemsworth, and Olivia Wilde, among others, remains a classic among F1 fans.

Therefore, it didn’t come as a surprise when the F1 legend’s memorial was attended by celebrities across the spectrum. Lewis Hamilton, who, according to TMZ was very close to Niki, was present. Niki had a role to play in Lewis’ signing with Mercedes in 2013. Among the list of celebs who gathered to pay their respects to Niki were Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, former F1 drivers Alain Prost, Sir Jackie Stewart, and Nico Rosberg.

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Despite suffering an awful crash himself, Niki remained critical of FIA for constantly introducing safety features for drivers. He believed that part of the sport’s appeal was the crashes, and the safety measures were taking a toll on its popularity.

Niki Lauda remained critical of FIA trying to make the sport safer

Niki Lauda, in 2017, appeared for an interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger. He there talked about the changes he wanted to see in Formula 1.

Niki spoke, “Don’t continue trying to make Formula 1 completely safe, because people will lose interest in the end.” “People sometimes like to see accidents, to see where the limits are. But as long as he’s able to get out safe, I think this is what we have to achieve. If we go too far, I think the Formula 1 destroys itself,” he added.

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Lewis Hamilton too was critical of FIA, making it mandatory for teams to introduce Halo to their cars. However, after his crash at Silverstone with Max Verstappen last year, where Max’s car landed on his head but the Halo ensured minimum damage, Lewis admitted he was wrong.