Lewis Hamilton has paid an emotional tribute to his “buddy” Niki Lauda, who has been hailed as the bravest driver in Formula One history. Alongside an image of the pair embracing, five-time world champion Hamilton wrote on Instagram: “My buddy, I am struggling to believe you are gone. Yet just 40 days on from the near-fatal crash, Lauda returned to his Ferrari cockpit to contest the Italian Grand Prix. Niki Lauda will be remembered forever.”Former F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, whose Brabham team Lauda joined from Ferrari in 1978, told BBC Sport the Austrian was “loved all over the world”. Lauda was appointed non-executive chairman of Mercedes in 2012 and convinced Hamilton to sign for them from McLaren.

Source: Irish Examiner May 22, 2019 09:27 UTC