Lauda edges closer to G.P. record

Press, 21 April 1984, Page 26

Lauda edges closer to G.P. record

By

GEORGE TANNER

With his recent win in the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, the Austrian driver, Niki Lauda, moved to within eight grand prix victories of being the sport’s most successful driver. The 35 year old, fairhaired, Viennese has now won 20 grand prix, placing him fourth behind Jackie Stewart (27), the late Jim Clark (25) and the legendary Argentinian ace of the 19505, Juan Manuel Fangio (24). Lauda's winning trend began 10 years ago, in 1974, when, as a youthful, promising Ferrari recruit, he won the Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama and the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. The next season Lauda clinched the first of his two world drivers* titles, with wins in Belguim, Monaco, France, Sweden and the United States. Lauda equalled his 1975 tally the next year with victories in Brazil, Belguim, South Africa, Monaco and Britain. His winning streak was tragically halted by his terrible crash at Nurburgring, West Germany, and with no further wins that year, he narrowly lost his title, by a one-point margin, to Britain’s James Hunt. The next season Drought more scalps |o

his belt, in South Africa, Germany and the Netherlands. As a result of these wins, along with other good placings, he won his second drivers’ crown. With 15 wins for Ferrari, he left the Italian team and signed up for Brabham. In 1978 he won the Swedish G.P. in the controversial “fan car.” Although the car was subsequently banned by the sport’s governing body, Lauda was allowed to keep his victory. The car was equipped with a suction fan at the rear to assist it’s road holding capabilities and proteste from other drivers and constructors saw its demise after only one outing. Controversy also surrounded his seventeenth win, at the Italian G.P. several months later, when Mario Andretti was penalised for jumping the start. Unreliable engines and an uncompetitive chassis prevented Lauda fom winning any championship races in 1979, although he did win a non-champion-ship race at Imola in the bulky Brabham BT4B. Tiring of becoming a consistant also-ran, Lauda quit racing to pursue a career in the airline industry as operator of Lauda Air. However, his new

was not without its pitfalls, and, after careful consideration, Lauda was enticed out of his two-year retirement by Ron Dennis, manager of the revamped Marlboro McLaren team. It took just three races before Lauda was back in the winner’s circle, winning the United States G.P. (West) at Long Beach, California. Several months later he showed this was no fluke, when he drove an equally calculating and smooth race to win the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. The 1983 season was the first time Lauda had not won a single race in a decade of which he was clearly a dominant figure. His McLaren team-mate, John Watson, won two races that season as Lauda struggled with development work on the Porsche designed, Tag turbo V 6 engine. With this season just two races old, both Lauda and bis French team-mate, Alain Prost, have scored a win apiece, so last year’s development work may have paid off. With time and ability on his side, and a determination not to be out-driven by Prost, Lauda may yet reach that recordbreaking target of 28 grand prix wins.