MovieChat Forums > Rush (2013) Discussion > RIP Niki Lauda

RIP Niki Lauda

posted 6 years ago by R_Kane (15828)
8 replies | jump to latest

Three-time Formula 1 World Champion Niki Lauda died this weekend. He passed in his sleep. He was 70, and suffered a variety of ailments all stemming from the horrific crash depicted in Rush. He waged a one-man crusade for stricter safety standards in auto racing, and the number of fatalities in F1 has tumbled dramatically. He was abrasive. He lacked people skills. He was a ferocious competitor. He was literally scarred for life. I hope he will be remembered for this: Niki Lauda saved lives.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Love the statement. Niki Lauda saved lives.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 5 years ago

Thank you. When I started following F1 in the 60s, 2 or 3 deaths a year was accepted as common. Then Lauda came along. I recall only 1 F1 fatality in the past 10 years, and that because a huge crane at Monaco was parked where it should not have been. You know, F1 used to be called The Cruel Sport. May God rest Niki Lauda.

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

The movie made him seem to be a really brilliant and interesting guy, and one who took his sharp life lesson about safety and turned it to good purpose.

Who was somewhere on the autism spectrum, like a touch of the Aspergers. Was that something the movie made up, or was the real guy that... eccentric?

[–] R_Kane (15828) 5 years ago

Yes, Otter, he had a problem with people skills; but he had a lot to offer, nonetheless. I think the scene in the movie (which I believe is fictional) where James Hunt beat up the reporter who asked Lauda the outrageous question portrayed a very normal human response of which Lauda was incapable, and a completely excusable response. It’s like the scene in Conan The Barbarian, when Subati says, “He is Conan. He will not cry. So I cry for him.”

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

Are you part of the racing fandom, or do you have any contact with the racing fandom?

I wonder if they have any opinion about him having a touch of the Aspergers or not? Because I myself couldn't be further from the racing fandom, not having watched a car race in about fifty years...

[–] R_Kane (15828) 5 years ago

I regret it’s taken some time to reply, Otter. I’ve followed F1 for decades. I’ve never heard any theories that Nikki had Asperger’s syndrome. Based on what little I know about the condition, I’d tend to doubt it, if only because most who have it have problems with coordination, which Lauda clearly did not. One thing I can tell you about him that I think speaks volumes about the kind of man he was. I followed news about his dreadful crash and therapy thereafter. It was prima facile miraculous that he was back racing again just 6 weeks later. But he said something that will always stay with me, about his fight for life. He said, “As I lay there, I realized I was thinking about HOW EASY it would be just to let myself die—AND THAT’S WHEN I STARTED FIGHTING.”

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 4 years ago

Amen, and RIP Niki.

😐

[–] R_Kane (15828) 4 years ago