[NeilP]

Wow, this must tear you in two Forza. Love him or hate him right

A Brilliant driver and very brave, says some stupid stuff at times maybe we should invite on here he would fit in perfectly

[forzaferrari]

When I first set eyes on an f1 car as a kid it was Niki driving, to this day I am a big fan of him and his achievements....even if he is affiliated with the enemy now

[morini]

The guy achieved great, great things. I was (naturally) a James Hunt Fan in the 70's, but Lauda was a great competitor and has done some great things in his life. A man to be admired and looked up to. I hope we see him back in the paddock soon.

The two people I like to see most on post race TV interviews are Kimi and Niki Lauda, they both have the same "don't give a shit" attitude. F1 needs more of that!

[PapaofGags]

For me its similar to Morini & Forza, as some of you know it was 1976 (James & Barry double) when I got in to F1, I was lucky enough to be at Brands that year, if you want watch the youtube vid, "we want James, we want James" has stayed with me until this day, he was my first F1 hero & Niki was the enemy, after what happened to him & how he fought to get back in to his car really impressed a young boy, me, happily they became friends, I am so hoping Niki recovers, I don't care who he offends, just say it as it is Niki you star.

[forzaferrari]

I was a little young to get into the whole rivalry at the time, I just knew I loved watching fast cars and at the time liked the `red` one more, remember my dad coming home with a scalextric set with Niki and James cars once he realised how intrigued I was when watching the real thing on tv.....played with it for weeks on end ....until my grandfather arrived with my first proper motorbike

[morini]

I was a little young to get into the whole rivalry at the time, I just knew I loved watching fast cars and at the time liked the `red` one more, remember my dad coming home with a scalextric set with Niki and James cars once he realised how intrigued I was when watching the real thing on tv.....played with it for weeks on end ....until my grandfather arrived with my first proper motorbike

It was Hunt and Lauda who got me into F1, mid 1970's. I was young as well (12), but old enough to be captivated the first time I saw and heard F1 cars on the TV. 

My dad wasn't actually into F1 in a massive way (he liked it, but wasn't obsessed like I am), though he worked in the motor industry all his working life and loved cars from a mechanical / design perspective. He taught me everything I know about how cars work and we spent a lot of hours tinkering with / repairing old cars back in the day. He watched the races with me but it was me who developed the fascination. My dad could take it or leave it.

I didn't get my first motorbike until a few years later (1982), and I bought that myself against the wishes of all my family (including my dad). I can understand why they were worried but once you get the sniff of the fun a motorbike offers that doesn't ever leave you (and I mean ever). My first bike was a Honda XL125 and I can remember picking it up like it was yesterday. Put all my savings I'd stashed from birthday / christmas money (for many years) plus summer jobs washing caravans at the local campsite. I was proud of that bike! And the fact that I could afford to buy it outright. However, it didn't last long until I binned it in a big way, but at least I had the joy of buying and owning my first bike.

But I digress. The likes of Niki Lauda, James Hunt and Barry Sheen had a massive influence on my early life. Heros, all of them!

[forzaferrari]

Same for me bud, I was 5 or 6 when I first watched f1, my dad said I just sat on the floor wide eyed in amazement. None of my family where into f1 nor bikes for that matter. I remember my first ride on a motorbike, we where on holidays down in Devon with my grandparents and visited a fair, I remember watching some older kids riding small motocross type bikes in a roped off area and being very envious, later in the day my granda took me for a walk to get "ice cream" (at least I am told thats what he said to my mother).... next thing I know I was lifted onto one of the bikes, an oversized helmet plonked on my head and told "not to fall off and dont let the bigger boys beat you"....and that was that, hooked from that day onward.

[forzaferrari]

Niki continues to improve according to doctor...

On Monday a statement released by the Austrian general hospital and Medical University of Vienna said developments after the transplant were “very satisfactory”.

It detailed that 24 hours after the operation, Lauda was fully conscious and could be extubated and breathe independently.

The statement added: “Since then there has been a continuous improvement. All organs function well.

“The patient will continue to be cared for at AKH Wien until he recovers completely.”

[forzaferrari]

The Mercedes Formula 1 team is buoyant it has made progress with its weakness in high temperatures and will fare better in warmer races in the future.
Mercedes has traditionally overworked its rear tyres more than rivals, leaving it vulnerable in races held in higher temperatures and at rear-limited circuits.

However, Lewis Hamilton’s victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix prior to the summer break was earned in sweltering 33C heat, with track temperature at 57C.
Crucial to Hamilton’s win was a one-stop strategy executed via a longer-than-expected first stint on ultrasoft tyres that set up a long second stint on softs.
Explaining Hamilton’s ability to nurse the tyres, team boss Toto Wolff said after the race: “Free air plays a big role but it’s a little bit of a mystery that sometimes you perform on a tyre and not on the other one. I think it was the other way around with Ferrari.
“More data to collect, more to understand, but the prevailing, overarching feeling for us is that we won the race in Budapest with 60-degree track temperature.
“That was something we would have not thought could be achievable for us. That gives me a good feeling that we have understood more and we can be more competitive in the hot races in the future.”
Hamilton had struggled in Hungary in practice and admitted earlier in the race weekend that rear tyre management was usually a strong Ferrari trait. He had baulked at the suggestion his own performances in races prior to Hungary had suggested Mercedes finding a silver bullet.

“If you look at some of the comments from the last race, it was ‘oh Mercedes all of a sudden knows, this race they’ve made the tyres last’, which is not the case,” said Hamilton.
Mercedes has been at pains to point out that improving its tyre management is not a matter of finding a solution that works everywhere.
It is a complex process that varies depending on ambient and track temperature and the circuit layout.

Technical director James Allison said after the race weekend it was a combination of the 2018 car being kind to its rear tyres, the car’s set-up that weekend and Hamilton’s ability to manage the rubber well.
Another area that Mercedes performed better in was its starts, with Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas keeping Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen at bay on the long run to Turn 1.
Wolff has previously indicated that was a weak point Mercedes needed to address, and Hamilton called it “an ongoing process” over the race weekend.
“The Ferraris have been very, very good on their starts,” he said. “They have been for years. It’s obviously a priority every year, they start when they’re doing development, because obviously there’s room to gain.
“The least you want to do is hold position and the most you want to do is gain metres on everyone. We are constantly working. There’s a lot of work going on to try to improve.”

[forzaferrari]

Niki Lauda is unlikely to return to the Formula 1 paddock in 2018 after being ordered not to fly for the next six months, as reported by Austrian outlet OE24. Lauda remains in Vienna General Hospital as he recovers from a lung transplant.
Lauda has been in intensive care for the past fortnight, having avoided death by a matter of days according to doctors, after falling ill while on holiday in Spain.
The three-time F1 champion has made positive progress and is breathing unaided, talking to relatives and progressing with physiotherapy according to reports.
OE24 report that Lauda will remain hospitalised when he celebrates his 10th wedding anniversary with wife Birgit next weekend.
Although surgeon Walter Klepetko has previously suggested that Lauda will be able to resume a "normal life", limitations will be placed upon the 69-year-old as his immune system recovers after he was placed in an artificial coma.
As well as a half-year stint that will see the racing driver turned airline mogul unable to fly, he is forbidden from swimming in public pools for the rest of his life, while he must limit contact with plants and animals.
He has also been ordered to holiday in countries neighbouring Austria in case he needs to be rushed back to hospital in the future.