Formula One legend Niki Lauda dies

The three-time champion was 70.

Three-time Formula One champion Niki Lauda has died at the age of 70, according to a statement released by his family.

Lauda passed away peacefully on Monday, May 20th. The cause of his death wasn't released, but the Austrian race car driver and entrepreneur had previously experienced serious health problems due to a fiery crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix held on the Nurburgring. He notably received a lung transplant in August 2018, and he received two kidney transplants in 1997 and 2005, respectively.

Born into a wealthy family, Lauda started racing in Formula 1 at the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix. He quickly proved he was a forced to be reckoned with on the track, and accepted an offer to join the Ferrari team in 1974. He won his first driver's championship the following year. The 1976 crash left him badly burned, and the fumes he inhaled while trapped in the car damaged his organs, but he was determined to beat the odds and race again. He was back in the driver's seat on the Monza track six weeks after the accident, and he won his second driver's title in 1977.

He retired from racing in 1979 and founded an airline named Lauda Air. The McLaren team lured him out of retirement in 1982, and he won a third driver's title in 1984 before hanging up his helmet for good the following year. He remained deeply involved in racing, however, and he was the non-executive chairman of the Mercedes-AMG Formula One team at the time of his death. He also owned a 10-percent stake in the team.

Lauda was an influential figure in the world of racing, but he was also very active in the airline industry. Austrian Airlines purchased a controlling stake in Lauda Air in 2000. Lauda then founded a budget airline named Niki in 2003, and, since he was a licensed pilot, he piloted its flights on a regular basis. Niki and Air Berlin merged in 2011, though Lauda later re-purchased the airline when its new owner filed for bankruptcy. Finally, in 2018, Lauda acquired a company named Amira Air, renamed it LaudaMotion, and later began a collaboration with budget carrier RyanAir. As of 2018, RyanAir owned a 75 percent stake in Lauda Motion.

Lauda is survived by five children and his second wife.