Ferrari’s F1 quick-fixer

This month marks 50 years since Niki Lauda won his first Formula 1 race – driving for Ferrari in the 1974 Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama.

The Austrian was a key player in helping to transform the Scuderia upon his arrival, it having morphed into a somewhat listing ship in the early ’70s.

But why did grand prix racing’s most celebrated team turn to a driver who, up to his ’74 Ferrari debut, had just two world championship points to his name?

Alan Henry has the inside story in a fascinating Motor Sport archive piece, from March 2005, speaking to Lauda and those close to him at the time.

“You could see straight off that he had that little bit extra,” BRM team manger Tim Parnell said. “Up to that point I had never seen such dedication. It never surprised me that he made it to the top.”

The pragmatic Lauda could play politics too: “When I first drove the Ferrari B3 at Fiorano I told them the car was shit. Mr Ferrari said to me I had a week to lap 1sec faster, otherwise I was out. We made the modifications and delivered the result. It was a piece of cake, actually.”

The rest, as they say, is history: a first win came in just five races, with two drivers’ titles and three constructors’ crowns delivered over four seasons.

To read the full story visit motorsportmagazine.com/archive