Niki Lauda

Andreas Nikolaus Lauda was born in Vienna in 1949 to a wealthy family that disapproved of racing, so he financed his early career with bank loans taken against his own name. Methodical and unsentimental, he rose quickly through Formula Two, and after joining Ferrari he won his first world championship in 1975, restoring the famous team to glory.

At the 1976 German Grand Prix on the Nürburgring his Ferrari crashed and burst into flames, leaving him with severe burns and lung damage; he was read the last rites. Forty days later he returned to race at Monza, finishing fourth, and he won the title again in 1977. After retiring he came back with McLaren and took a third championship in 1984 by half a point.

Away from the cockpit he founded and ran airlines, and as non-executive chairman of the Mercedes Formula One team he helped build a modern dynasty, signing Lewis Hamilton. He died in Zurich in 2019 from complications following a lung transplant. His legacy is clear-eyed bravery, the will to face fear, count the odds and drive on anyway.

Austrian Formula One driver and three-time world champion whose return to racing just six weeks after a near-fatal fiery crash remains sport's greatest comeback.