F1 to pay tribute to the late Niki Lauda at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix
Formula One will pay its respects to Niki Lauda at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, following the death of the Austrian three-times world champion on Monday.
Mercedes are expected to have a visual tribute to their non-executive chairman on the cars of both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas when first practice gets under way on Thursday in the principality.
Formula 1 bosses are likely to hold a minute’s silence on the grid, as was done following the death of F1 race director Charlie Whiting on the eve of this season’s opener in Melbourne.
Tributes continue to pour in for Lauda — a two-times winner at Monaco — with Mercedes posting a statement on Wednesday morning which read: “The memories of Niki you have all shared mean a huge amount to everyone in this team.
“We didn’t just lose a legend in Niki but a friend and a team-mate. This weekend, we intend to honour our chairman in the best way possible: giving it everything on track!”
Victory for Hamilton on Sunday would prove particularly emotive. Lauda was integral to luring the Briton to Mercedes from McLaren and Hamilton described him last night as “the bright light in my life”.
There is also a suggestion Hamilton could have a nod to Lauda on his racing helmet for the weekend.
Niki Lauda - In pictures
Lauda’s close friend Bernie Ecclestone revealed that the last few months had been “bloody torture and a misery” for the ex-F1 racer with a litany of health problems.
Lauda underwent a lung transplant last August and had been receiving kidney dialysis in recent months.
Ecclestone wrote in the Daily Mail: “I choose to remember him the way he was, the old Niki I wish he could still be: a fighter, an always-on-the-go dynamo who won three world titles and was busy and successful afterwards in so many areas, from team management to business.
“Niki was a warrior and just a bit special in general. He was a super driver but far above that he was a special man.”
