The former Austrian Formula One driver Niki Lauda and a three-time FI World driver champion have died on Monday, May 20, 2019, at the age of 70. His death occurred 8 months after receiving lung transplantation. As per the reports by an Austrian press agency, the family said in a statement this past Monday that Niki has peacefully passed away. McLaren pays tribute on Niki's death on Twitter as he won the 1984 F1 title with their team. Formula One World Champion Niki Lauda Undergoes Successful Lung Transplant.

The family paid tribute to Niki by further stating that Niki was a loving and caring husband, father and grandfather away from the public and he will be missed by many. He made his Formula 1 debut in 1971 at Austrian Grand Prix and picked up his first points in 1973 with a fifth-place finish for BRM in Belgium. Niki Lauda won the FI driver championship in 1975, 1977 with Ferrari and in the year 1984 with McLaren. Lauda was born in a wealthy Vienna industrial family on Feb. 22, 1949. Instead of joining his father paper manufacturing industry, Niki chose to concentrate on becoming a racing driver. Niki Lauda, Three-Time Formula One World Champion, Passes Away.

Niki will always be remembered for the way he made a comeback to the racing track after getting badly burnt in 1976 during the German Grand Prix. The accident was so horrible that it even took him into a coma stage, where many thought that the Austrian F1 racer would never return back. He returned back to the contest just six months after this incident where he finished fourth at Monza.

Lauda came out of retirement in the year 1982 after getting a whopping offer of 3 million dollars a year by McLaren. However, he retired later in the year 1985 after winning the F1 title in 1984, as he wanted to devote his time to the airline business.

After Lauda Air got fully acquired by Austrian Airlines, he started a new airline with the name Niki in 2003. However, this airline was also taken over by Germany's Air Berlin and was under their control till 2018 when Lauda bought it back again in the year 2018. Niki also contributed the latter part of his life to Formula One Circuit where he gave a push Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.

McLaren Tweet on Niki Lauda's death!!

Niki Lauda died as an entrepreneur and a non-executive chairman for the Formula 1 Mercedes team. Before getting lung transplantation in Aug, 2018, he also twice underwent a kidney transplant in the year 1997 and 2005.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 21, 2019 09:40 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).