Three-time Formula 1 World Champion, Niki Lauda, has sadly passed away yesterday. The Austrian, who had a lung transplant last August, won the Championship in 1975 and 1977 with Scuderia Ferrari and again in 1984 with McLaren.

In 1976 he staged one of the greatest sporting comebacks in history when, just six weeks after being badly injured in a fiery crash in Germany, he triumphantly returned to action, only narrowly missing out on that year’s drivers’ crown.

Following his racing career, Lauda returned to F1 in management roles, first with Scuderia Ferrari, then with Jaguar and most recently with Mercedes, where he held the role of non-executive chairman as the Silver Arrows re-wrote the F1 record books.

Chase Carey, Chairman and CEO, Formula 1 said:

“It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of Niki Lauda. Formula 1 has lost not only one of the truly great exponents of the sport but also one of its heroes. His love of racing and the courage he demonstrated were simply extraordinary and he inspired so many fans. His passing is a great loss for the entire Formula 1 family and motorsport as a whole. All our thoughts go out to his family.”