Niki Lauda during a press conference. (Source: Reuters/File)
Three-time Formula One World Champion Niki Lauda has undergone a successful lung transplant surgery in Vienna’s general hospital, news agency AFP reported. As per a brief statement from the hospital quoted by AFP, “The transplant was successfully carried out.” The former racer had to cut short his vacation in Ibiza after developing a lung infection and he returned to Vienna for the surgery, newspaper Osterreich reported.
The Austrian racer, who was crowned as the World Champion for the first time in 1975, survived a near-fatal car crash at the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, that left him with severe burns. He also inhaled poisonous gases during the incident, with the rescuers spending almost a minute in pulling him out from the burning car. The accident caused a steady decline in the strength of his lungs, as per the report.
In spite of the injuries sustained by the racer, Lauda went on to win the title again in 1977 and 1984. At 69, he still continues to be a regular presence in Grand Prix paddocks around the world as non-executive president of world champions Mercedes.
Due to his illness, he failed to appear at the Hockenheim race on July 22, and the event in Hungary last Sunday. He also had to undergo kidney transplants in 1997 and 2005. He also once founded his own airline.