Formula 1 legend Niki Lauda's (†) son reveals: "Discover who he really was"
Lukas Lauda remembers his father Niki: For the family, the Formula 1 star was above all a present and modest father.
For Lukas, Niki Lauda was primarily a father at home, not the famous racing driver. "He never talked about Formula 1; for us, he was simply a father who was away a lot, but when he was home, he devoted himself entirely to the family."
Niki didn't treat his sons Mathias and Lukas like children, but spoke to them like adults. Modesty, punctuality, and no excuses – these were the values he consistently taught. "The word 'whining' wasn't in his vocabulary," says Lukas.
Lukas Lauda first realized his father's fame in 1983 on Ibiza. "One day, he took me to the village, we were sitting in a bar, and I saw more and more people gathering around him." They wanted autographs or to shake his hand, congratulate him, or ask him a question. "I didn't understand it and asked him, 'Why are they all coming to you?'"
Niki Lauda answered his question: "Because I'm a Formula 1 driver and a two-time world champion." Lukas continued: "That's how I discovered who he really was."
One scene from Seattle remains particularly vivid in my memory. On a business trip, the family visited an Italian restaurant. The manager asked Niki to take off his red cap. "Without hesitation, he took off his hat and told us to sit down, dinner was about to begin." Later, when the owner noticed the mistake and apologized, Niki reacted calmly: "You don't have to apologize, rules are rules."
Even in the final months before the racing driver's death in May 2019, his son was always by his side. "He wasn't just a father to me. He was like a big brother and then a best friend," he recalls. Niki Lauda instilled in him values such as humility, modesty, and courtesy. "He never considered himself too important."
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