The late Niki Lauda was known by many as the many who cheated Death, back in 1976. Tragically, the Maker came back for him, nearly 43 years later, and this time, Lauda welcomed him with open arms. However, long ago, when another legend, Michael Schumacher had his skiing accident, Lauda spoke very highly of the German.

In fact, he even rated Schumacher as “the greatest driver of them all”. On a more sombre note, Niki Lauda predicted that Schumacher would not recover from the accident. As it turns out, Lauda’s death was the result of flu complications from a lung transplant.

Both Niki Lauda and Michael Schumacher have worked alongside each other in the past, at Ferrari. From their time together, they have had massive respect for each other. So, when Schumacher had his accident, Niki Lauda was understandably distraught.

When he spoke to The Guardian in the wake of Schumacher’s accident, he said, “He was the greatest driver of them all, with seven titles. Only the great Juan Manuel Fangio comes close to him, with five. He was the perfect racer, with speed, instinct and a great technical understanding,”

“I find it completely shocking and unexplainable why this great driver, who won seven championships in over 300 races and stayed alive, could have something like this happen to him. It’s tragic.

“Michael is a very good skier and what happened to him could have happened to anyone. He’s a perfect man, a solid man, an outstanding guy. He would not take unnecessary risks. He’s not stupid. I certainly would not expect him to do something crazy in front of his own son.”

“The news is not encouraging at all. That is my worry and that is why I’m praying for him. I pray to God that it will all end well, but sadly it doesn’t seem that way at the moment.”

“I believe there is someone up there trying to help in this situation. He decides things we cannot understand.”