McLaren MP4-25

Category	Formula One
Constructor	McLaren Racing
Designer(s)	Paddy Lowe (Engineering Director) Neil Oatley (Design & Development Director) Tim Goss (Chief Engineer) Doug McKiernan (Chief Aerodynamicist)
Predecessor	MP4-24
Successor	MP4-26
Technical specifications[1]
Chassis	Moulded carbon fibre honeycomb composite incorporating front and side impact structures and integral safety fuel cell
Suspension (front)	Inboard torsion bar / damper system operated by pushrod and bell crank with a double wishbone arrangement
Suspension (rear)	as front
Engine	Mercedes-Benz FO 108X 2.4 L (146 cu in) V8 (90°). Naturally aspirated, 18,000 RPM limited, mid-mounted.
Transmission	McLaren 7 forward speeds + 1 reverse semi-automatic
Weight	620 kg (1,367 lb) (including driver)
Fuel	ExxonMobil High Performance Unleaded (5.75% bio fuel) Mobil Synergy Fuel System Mobil 1 lubrication
Tyres	Bridgestone Potenza Enkei Wheels (front and rear): 13"
Competition history
Notable entrants	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Notable drivers	1. Jenson Button 2. Lewis Hamilton
Debut	2010 Bahrain Grand Prix
Races Wins Poles Fastest laps 19 5 1 6

The McLaren MP4-25 was a Formula One motor racing car designed and raced by McLaren in the 2010 season. The car, which was driven by 2009 World Champion Jenson Button^[2] and 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton,^[3] was officially unveiled at title sponsor Vodafone's headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire, United Kingdom on January 29, 2010.^[4][5]

F-duct[link]

The Red Bull Racing team complained to the FIA about the legality of the MP4-25's rear wing.^[6] The design uses a small "snorkel" air scoop mounted in front of the driver that channels air through a duct in the cockpit and towards the rear of the car. Changes in the pressure in the duct, in combination with small slots on the rear wing, causes the wing to enter a stalled state at high speed, reducing aerodynamic drag and allowing the car as much as an extra 6 mph (9.7 km/h) on straights.^[7] The effect is controlled by the driver covering up a small hole in the cockpit with his left leg - this is not considered by the FIA to be a moveable aerodynamic device, which would be banned under the technical regulations. Known internally as the RW80 it is widely called the "F-Duct" system either due to the shape of the air intake or the fact that it is beside the F of the Vodafone logo.^[8] Another term for the system is switchable rear wing (SRW).^[9] The car was inspected on the Thursday prior to the Bahrain Grand Prix and cleared to take part in the race.^[10]

Racing history[link]

Jenson Button at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The F-duct can clearly be seen on the top of the chassis between the front wheels.

The MP4-25 proved to be a stark improvement over the McLaren MP4-24 with both Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton reaching the third stage of qualifying at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix. Hamilton got the better of the car in Q3 placing the car fourth on the grid with Button managing eighth. During the race the car proved lacking in downforce causing it to struggle to keep up with the pace of the Ferraris and Sebastian Vettel who opened up an impressive lead. During an uneventful race Hamilton finished third thanks to a problem with Vettel's car, Button also picked up a place during the race and finished seventh.

Jenson Button won the Australian Grand Prix, in the MP4-25's second race.

In Australia, Button was the first to come in for slick tyres on a damp but drying track, which lifted him to second place after the other drivers had pitted. He inherited the lead when Sebastian Vettel retired with brake problems and maintained the position to the end of the race without changing his tyres again. Hamilton finished sixth after a controversial weekend both on and off the track.

Lewis Hamilton finished in sixth position in the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix despite qualifying in 20th.

In Malaysia, McLaren seemed to improve their overall pace by three-tenths of a second due to performance updates to the car, with Hamilton recording the fastest lap time in both free practice sessions on Friday. Button also finished in the top ten in all three practice sessions. The first qualifying session was wet and the team relied on the weather radar rather than using common sense to misjudge the weather conditions, failing to send their cars out at the optimum track conditions. Hamilton failed to make it out of the first part of qualifying, setting the 20th best time. Button just made it out of that session, but due to him aquaplaning into the gravel trap, he started seventeenth on the grid taking no further part in the qualifying session. Both drivers finished in the points, with Hamilton finishing sixth and Button eighth.

In China they scored a dominant 1-2 finish. In Spain, Hamilton had been running towards the front for the majority of the race, but crashed out on the penultimate lap when a front wheel rim cracked and deflated a front tyre. Meanwhile after qualifying fifth, Button experienced delays during his first pitstop, and got jumped by Michael Schumacher for which he was never able to recover, and finished in fifth place. In Monaco, the car lacked mechanical grip, with Hamilton and Button qualifying fifth and eighth respectively. Button retired on lap 3 with an overheating engine after a cooling duct was mistakenly left in the radiator, while Hamilton never managed to threaten the pace of the leaders and finished fifth.

In Turkey, Hamilton and Button qualified second and fourth respectively amongst the two Red Bulls of polesitter Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. In the race, the car's straightline speed was evident when Hamilton challenged Webber for first place during the first stint, but was never able to pass. After being delayed during his pitstop when a rear wheel jammed, he dropped behind Vettel, and was keeping up with the pace with Button trailing behind him, whom after passing Michael Schumacher on the first lap was quietly matching the pace of the leaders. However on lap 41, the two Red Bulls collided with Vettel retiring and Webber needing to pit for a new front wing. Despite a brief battle for the lead with Button as the race drew slowly to a close, Hamilton was never challenged, and led Button home for McLaren's second one-two finish of the season.

In Canada, Hamilton claimed the first non-Red Bull pole of the season, and went on to claim the drivers' championship lead as led home Button once again for a 1-2, giving the team the constructors' championship lead. In Valencia, Hamilton qualified third behind the Red Bulls, with Button in seventh. In the race, Hamilton passed the safety car illegally – deployed after Webber ran into the back and over Heikki Kovalainen's Lotus – and was forced to serve a drive-through penalty. Despite this, Hamilton finished second behind Vettel with Button completing the podium.

McLaren hoped to challenge Red Bull at Silverstone, introducing new aerodynamic updates for the car. Unfortunately for the team, neither driver could find a good balance and setup for the new updates and reverted to the original package. Hamilton qualified fourth while Button failed to make the top ten, ending up 14th. Hamilton took another second place in the race while Button finished fourth, losing out on the final podium spot to Nico Rosberg. Hockenheim proved difficult for McLaren with the team preparing a damage limitation tactics until further major updates were introduced. Hamilton retained his championship lead with fourth, with Button just behind to keep McLaren top of the constructors' championship.

In Hungary, the circuit's nature hindered McLaren more with Button missing the top ten again and Hamilton nearly two seconds off pole position. Hamilton retired during the race with a gearbox issue, and Button finished a lap down in eighth place. The results of the weekend meant that both championship leads were lost, Hamilton falling four points behind Webber and the team falling eight points behind Red Bull.

The Belgian Grand Prix looked set to be more successful, with Hamilton second on the grid and Button fifth. As the rain came down, they quickly moved into first and second. However, Sebastian Vettel was very close to Button in second and on lap 16, as the German tried to overtake on the outside of the Bus Stop chicane, he lost control and hit Button's McLaren, eliminating the Briton from the race. Hamilton stayed in the lead until the very end, however, despite a scare as the rain returned in the closing laps.

Button qualified second for the Italian Grand Prix, with Hamilton in 5th, a reversal of their positions from Spa. Button took the lead from Alonso at turn one, as he needed to on his contrary strategy. Hamilton, meanwhile, attempted to pull the same trick on Alonso's teammate Massa at the second chicane, but instead hit the Brazilian, damaging his front suspension and eliminating him from the race. Button stayed ahead until the pit stops, but Alonso emerged comfortably ahead to take victory. Button was still close at the end, just under 3 seconds behind.

Hamilton and Button were third and fourth on the grid in Singapore, with just 5 tenths separating the top 5. The two McLaren men stayed in position during a safety car, deployed to clear the wreckage of Vitantonio Liuzzi's Force India, right up to the pit stops. They emerged behind Mark Webber, who had jumped them in the stops, just in time for a second safety car as Kamui Kobayashi and Bruno Senna collided. This closed up the field, and on the restart, Webber was held up by Lucas di Grassi in the Virgin, who he was lapping, which allowed Hamilton to close right up. The Brit attempted a move into turn 7, but as he moved across in front of the Australian, the two made contact and Lewis's rear suspension was terminally damaged. For the second time in two races, he had retired due to unnecessary contact with another car. As Webber carried on unscathed, this allowed Button through into fourth, and that was how it stayed until the end of the race.

Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix was held on the morning of the race, after torrential rain at Suzuka on the Saturday. Hamilton qualified third, but eventually started the race in 8th after a 5 place grid penalty for changing his gearbox. This meant that Button, originally sixth, started fifth. Hamilton had a brilliant start, moving up 6th just behind his team mate before the safety car was deployed due to the first corner incident involving Nico Hülkenberg, Felipe Massa, Vitaly Petrov and Vitantonio Liuzzi. The retirement of Robert Kubica two laps later promoted them to 4th and 5th. Button led during the pit stops, but emerged in fifth, behind Hamilton. Hamilton was in difficulty with his gearbox, however, and Button quickly caught and re-passed him. This was how they finished, meaning that they were now trailing in 4th and 5th in the championship battle.

Hamilton was fourth on the grid in Korea, with Button down in 7th. The race began in torrential conditions, and was red flagged after three laps under the safety car. A while later, the race began again, still under the safety car, and it remained out until lap 18. On the first racing lap, Hamilton was passed by Nico Rosberg, and shortly afterwards, Webber spun out of the race, collecting Rosberg as he spun back across the track. This meant that Hamilton was in 3rd, and Button 5th. Button faired very badly in the pit stops, and when things leveled out, he was in 15th, with Hamilton still 3rd. 10 laps from the end, Sebastian Vettel, who was leading the race, suffered an engine failure, gifting Alonso the lead and Hamilton second place, and that was how they finished. The retirements of Petrov, Vettel and Adrian Sutil meant that Button climbed to 12th by the end. This meant that Hamilton had re-passed Vettel for 3rd in the championship battle, and McLaren were clinging on to second from the ever improving Ferrari.

Brazil was up next, and in tricky conditions in qualifying, Button was eliminated in Q2 by local hero and fellow top 10 regular Felipe Massa. He started the race from 11th. Meanwhile, Hamilton was upholding the challenge in a decisive weekend for the Woking squad, taking fourth on the grid. Hamilton dropped to 5th at the start, passed by a fast starting Fernando Alonso. Button, meanwhile, had climbed to 9th, but was soon re-passed by a rapidly improving Michael Schumacher. Button, in a reversal of his Korean luck, did very well from his early pit stop, climbing to seventh, well ahead of Schumacher. Hamilton, meanwhile, had eventually forced his way past the surprise pole sitter Hülkenberg on lap 14. Hamilton was stuck behind the long running Kamui Kobayashi after his stop, but both he and Button, who was at this point close behind, found a way through. The late pit stop of Nico Rosberg promoted them to 4th and 5th, which were by now their customary positions, and that was how they finished. The championship was now out of Button's reach going to the final round in Abu Dhabi, and it was an outside shot for Hamilton, who was 24 points off Fernando Alonso's lead.

The season concluded with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Hamilton took 2nd in a critical race for him, with Button in 4th. Button jumped Alonso at the start, which was good for Hamilton, who needed to win with Alonso out of the points and Vettel and Webber both well down. Button led during the pit stops, but when everything was settled down, they were still in the same order, 2nd and 3rd behind Vettel, who went on to take the race and the title. Hamilton was eventually fourth, 16 points off Vettel, while Button was 5th, a further 26 behind. McLaren held on to second in the Constructors', 44 behind Red Bull and 58 ahead of Ferrari in 3rd.

Complete Formula One results[link]

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

^† Driver failed to finish the race, but were classified as they had completed >90% of the race distance.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: McLaren MP4-25

v t e  McLaren Founder: Bruce McLaren McLaren Group: Ron Dennis (25%) | TAG Group (25%) | Mumtalakat (50%) Current personnel: Martin Whitmarsh | Paddy Lowe | Sam Michael | Neil Oatley Former personnel: John Barnard | Gordon Coppuck | Pat Fry | Norbert Haug | Robin Herd | Neil Martin | Teddy Mayer | Gordon Murray | Adrian Newey | Steve Nichols | Jo Ramirez | Nicholas Tombazis Race drivers: 3. Jenson Button | 4. Lewis Hamilton Test drivers: Gary Paffett | Oliver Turvey World Champions:  Emerson Fittipaldi |  Lewis Hamilton |  James Hunt |  Mika Häkkinen |  Niki Lauda |  Alain Prost |  Ayrton Senna Cars Formula One: M2B | M4B | M5A | M7A | M7B | M7C | M7D | M9A | M14A | M14D | M19A | M19C | M23 | M26 | M28 | M29 | M29F | M30 | MP4 (MP4/1) | MP4B (MP4/1B) | MP4/1C | MP4/1E | MP4/2 | MP4/2B | MP4/2C | MP4/3 | MP4/4 | MP4/5 | MP4/5B | MP4/6 | MP4/6B | MP4/7A | MP4/8 | MP4/9 | MP4/10 | MP4/10B | MP4/10C | MP4/11 | MP4/11B | MP4/12 | MP4/13 | MP4/14 | MP4/15 | MP4-16 | MP4-17 | MP4-17D | MP4-18 | MP4-19 | MP4-19B | MP4-20 | MP4-21 | MP4-22 | MP4-23 | MP4-24 | MP4-25 | MP4-26 | MP4-27 Formula Two: M4A | M21 Sports cars: Zerex Special | M1A | M1B | M1C | M6A | M6B | M6GT | M8A | M8B | M8C | M8D | M8E | M8F | M8FP | M12 | M20 | F1 GTR USAC/IndyCar: M15 | M16A | M16B | M16C | M16C/D | M16E | M24 F5000/Libre:  M3 | M10A | M10B | M18 | M22 | M25 Development cars: M2A Road cars: F1 | F1 LM | SLR (for Mercedes-Benz) | MP4-12C Engines: M838T

MPEG-4 Part 14 (MP4)

MPEG-4 Part 14 extends over ISO Base Media File Format (MPEG-4 Part 12).[1]
Filename extension	.mp4, .m4a, .m4p, .m4b, .m4r and .m4v[Note 1]
Internet media type	video/mp4
Type code	mpg4
Developed by	International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
Type of format	Media container
Container for	Audio, video and text
Extended from	QuickTime File Format and MPEG-4 Part 12
Standard(s)	ISO/IEC 14496-14

MPEG-4 Part 14 or MP4 (formally ISO/IEC 14496-14:2003) is a multimedia container format standard specified as a part of MPEG-4. It is most commonly used to store digital video and digital audio streams, especially those defined by MPEG, but can also be used to store other data such as subtitles and still images. Like most modern container formats, MPEG-4 Part 14 allows streaming over the Internet. A separate hint track is used to include streaming information in the file. The only official filename extension for MPEG-4 Part 14 files is .mp4.

Some devices advertised as "MP4 Players" are simply MP3 Players that also play AMV video or some other video format, and do not necessarily play the MPEG-4 part 14 format.^[2][3]

History of MP4[link]

MPEG-4 Part 14 is an instance of more general ISO/IEC 14496-12:2004 (MPEG-4 Part 12: ISO base media file format) which is directly based upon QuickTime File Format.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} MPEG-4 Part 14 is essentially identical to the QuickTime file format, but formally specifies support for Initial Object Descriptors (IOD) and other MPEG features.^[9] MPEG-4 Part 14 revises and completely replaces Clause 13 of ISO/IEC 14496-1 (MPEG-4 Part 1: Systems), in which the file format for MPEG-4 content was previously specified.^[10]

The MPEG-4 file format specification was created on the basis of the QuickTime format specification published in 2001.^[11] The MPEG-4 file format, version 1 was published in 2001 as ISO/IEC 14496-1:2001, which is a revision of the MPEG-4 Part 1: Systems specification published in 1999 (ISO/IEC 14496-1:1999).^[12][13][14] In 2003, the first version of MP4 file format was revised and replaced by MPEG-4 Part 14: MP4 file format (ISO/IEC 14496-14:2003), commonly named as MPEG-4 file format version 2.^[15][16] The MP4 file format was generalized into the ISO Base Media File format ISO/IEC 14496-12:2004, which defines a general structure for time-based media files. It in turn is used as the basis for other file formats in the family (for example MP4, 3GP, Motion JPEG 2000).^[4][17][18]

The MP4 file format defined some extensions over ISO Base Media File Format to support MPEG-4 visual/audio codecs and various MPEG-4 Systems features such as object descriptors and scene descriptions. Some of these extensions are also used by other formats based on ISO base media file format (e.g. 3GP).^[1] A list of all registered extensions for ISO Base Media File Format is published on the official registration authority website www.mp4ra.org. The registration authority for code-points (identifier values) in "MP4 Family" files is Apple Computer Inc. and it is named in Annex D (informative) in MPEG-4 Part 12.^[17] Codec designers should register the codes they invent, but the registration is not mandatory^[19] and some invented and used code-points are not registered.^[20] When someone is creating a new specification derived from the ISO Base Media File Format, all the existing specifications should be used both as examples and a source of definitions and technology. If an existing specification already covers how a particular media type is stored in the file format (e.g. MPEG-4 audio or video in MP4), that definition should be used and a new one should not be invented.^[17]

Filename extensions[link]

While the only official filename extension defined by the standard is .mp4, various filename extensions are commonly used to indicate intended content:

• MPEG-4 files with audio and video generally use the standard .mp4 extension.
• Audio-only MPEG-4 files generally have a .m4a extension. This is especially true of non-protected content.
  • MPEG-4 files with audio streams encrypted by FairPlay Digital Rights Management as were sold through the iTunes Store use the .m4p extension. iTunes Plus tracks, that the iTunes Store currently sells, are unencrypted and use .m4a accordingly.
  • Audio book and podcast files, which also contain metadata including chapter markers, images, and hyperlinks, can use the extension .m4a, but more commonly use the .m4b extension. An .m4a audio file cannot "bookmark" (remember the last listening spot), whereas .m4b extension files can.
  • The Apple iPhone uses MPEG-4 audio for its ringtones but uses the .m4r extension rather than the .m4a extension.
• Raw MPEG-4 Visual bitstreams are named .m4v but this extension is also sometimes used for video in MP4 container format.^[21]
• Mobile phones use 3GP, an implementation of MPEG-4 Part 12 (a.k.a. MPEG-4/JPEG2000 ISO Base Media file format), similar to MP4. It uses .3gp and .3g2 extensions. These files also store non-MPEG-4 data (H.263, AMR, TX3G).

.MP4 versus .M4A[link]

M4A stands for MPEG 4 Audio and is a filename extension used to represent audio files.

The existence of two different filename extensions, .MP4 and .M4A, for naming audio-only MP4 files has been a source of confusion among users and multimedia playback software. Some file managers, such as Windows Explorer, look up the media type and associated applications of a file based on its filename extension. But since MPEG-4 Part 14 is a container format, MPEG-4 files may contain any number of audio, video, and even subtitle streams, making it impossible to determine the type of streams in an MPEG-4 file based on its filename extension alone. In response, Apple Inc. started using and popularizing the .m4a filename extension, which is used for MP4 containers with audio data in the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) or its own Apple Lossless (ALE, ALAC) formats. Software capable of audio/video playback should recognize files with either .m4a or .mp4 filename extensions, as would be expected, since there are no file format differences between the two. Most software capable of creating MPEG-4 audio will allow the user to choose the filename extension of the created MPEG-4 files.

Data streams[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Almost any kind of data can be embedded in MPEG-4 Part 14 files through private streams. The registered codecs for MPEG-4 Part 12-based files are published on the website of MP4 Registration authority (mp4ra.org),^[22] but most of them are not widely supported by MP4 players. The widely supported codecs and additional data streams are:^{[citation needed]}

• Video: MPEG-4 Part 10 (H.264) and MPEG-4 Part 2

Other compression formats are less used: MPEG-2 and MPEG-1

• Audio: Advanced Audio Coding

Also MPEG-4 Part 3 audio objects, such as Audio Lossless Coding (ALS), Scalable Lossless Coding (SLS), MP3, MPEG-1 Audio Layer II (MP2), MPEG-1 Audio Layer I (MP1), CELP, HVXC (speech), TwinVQ, Text To Speech Interface (TTSI) and Structured Audio Orchestra Language (SAOL)

Other compression formats are less used: Apple Lossless

• Subtitles: MPEG-4 Timed Text (also known as 3GPP Timed Text).

Nero Digital uses DVD Video subtitles in MP4 files

Metadata[link]

MP4 files can contain metadata as defined by the format standard, and in addition, can contain Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) metadata.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

• Container format (digital) definition and article
• Comparison of (audio/video) container formats
• List of multimedia (audio/video) codecs
  • List of open source codecs
  • Comparison of video codecs
  • Comparison of audio codecs

References[link]

External links[link]

• The MP4 registration authority
• RFC 4337 - MIME Type Registration for MPEG-4

Neil Oatley (born June 12, 1954) is currently Design and Development Director for the McLaren Formula One team.

Graduating from Loughborough University in 1976 with an Automotive Engineering degree, Oatley worked briefly outside motor racing before joining the Williams team in 1977. There he became one of many young engineers to have worked alongside Patrick Head early in their careers before moving on to other organisations. Oatley worked as a draughtsman before becoming a race engineer for both Clay Regazzoni and Carlos Reutemann.

In 1984 Oatley was recruited by Carl Haas to work on the FORCE F1 project but the results were poor and the team withdrew from Formula One in 1986.

Oatley joined the McLaren team shortly after leaving FORCE and worked alongside John Barnard in the design office. Barnard was soon replaced by Gordon Murray whose MP4/4 chassis almost completed a clean sweep of victories in 1988, and when Murray moved to the new McLaren road car project Neil Oatley was made Chief Designer, his cars securing titles in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998 and 1999.

Oatley continued to work as Chief Designer at McLaren until 2003 when he became Executive Director of Engineering.

References[link]

• Profile at grandprix.com

v t e    Williams F1 Founders:  Frank Williams · Patrick Head Current Personnel:  Mike Coughlan · Toto Wolff Former Personnel:  Ross Brawn · Frank Dernie · Gavin Fisher · Sam Michael · Adrian Newey · Neil Oatley · Adam Parr · Enrique Scalabroni · Geoff Willis Race drivers: 18. Pastor Maldonado · 19. Bruno Senna Test drivers: Valtteri Bottas · Susie Wolff World Champions:  Alan Jones · Keke Rosberg · Nelson Piquet · Nigel Mansell · Alain Prost · Damon Hill · Jacques Villeneuve Formula One cars:  Frank Williams Racing Cars: FW · FW04 · FW05 Williams Grand Prix Engineering/WilliamsF1: FW06 · FW07 · FW07B · FW07C · FW08 · FW08C · FW09 · FW09B · FW10 · FW11 · FW11B · FW12 · FW12C · FW13 · FW13B · FW14 · FW14B · FW15C · FW16 · FW16B · FW17 · FW17B · FW18 · FW19 · FW20 · FW21 · FW22 · FW23 · FW24 · FW25 · FW26 · FW27 · FW28 · FW29 · FW30 · FW31 · FW32 · FW33 · FW34 FIA Formula Two Cars: JPH1 · JPH1B Le Mans prototypes: BMW V12 LM · BMW V12 LMR Road cars: Renault Clio Williams Rally cars: Metro 6R4 Touring cars: Renault Laguna (BTCC)

v t e  McLaren Founder: Bruce McLaren McLaren Group: Ron Dennis (25%) | TAG Group (25%) | Mumtalakat (50%) Current personnel: Martin Whitmarsh | Paddy Lowe | Sam Michael | Neil Oatley Former personnel: John Barnard | Gordon Coppuck | Pat Fry | Norbert Haug | Robin Herd | Neil Martin | Teddy Mayer | Gordon Murray | Adrian Newey | Steve Nichols | Jo Ramirez | Nicholas Tombazis Race drivers: 3. Jenson Button | 4. Lewis Hamilton Test drivers: Gary Paffett | Oliver Turvey World Champions:  Emerson Fittipaldi |  Lewis Hamilton |  James Hunt |  Mika Häkkinen |  Niki Lauda |  Alain Prost |  Ayrton Senna Cars Formula One: M2B | M4B | M5A | M7A | M7B | M7C | M7D | M9A | M14A | M14D | M19A | M19C | M23 | M26 | M28 | M29 | M29F | M30 | MP4 (MP4/1) | MP4B (MP4/1B) | MP4/1C | MP4/1E | MP4/2 | MP4/2B | MP4/2C | MP4/3 | MP4/4 | MP4/5 | MP4/5B | MP4/6 | MP4/6B | MP4/7A | MP4/8 | MP4/9 | MP4/10 | MP4/10B | MP4/10C | MP4/11 | MP4/11B | MP4/12 | MP4/13 | MP4/14 | MP4/15 | MP4-16 | MP4-17 | MP4-17D | MP4-18 | MP4-19 | MP4-19B | MP4-20 | MP4-21 | MP4-22 | MP4-23 | MP4-24 | MP4-25 | MP4-26 | MP4-27 Formula Two: M4A | M21 Sports cars: Zerex Special | M1A | M1B | M1C | M6A | M6B | M6GT | M8A | M8B | M8C | M8D | M8E | M8F | M8FP | M12 | M20 | F1 GTR USAC/IndyCar: M15 | M16A | M16B | M16C | M16C/D | M16E | M24 F5000/Libre:  M3 | M10A | M10B | M18 | M22 | M25 Development cars: M2A Road cars: F1 | F1 LM | SLR (for Mercedes-Benz) | MP4-12C Engines: M838T

Niki Lauda

Lauda at the Nürburgring in 1973
Born	(1949-02-22) 22 February 1949 (age 63)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Austrian
Active years	1971 - 1979, 1982 - 1985
Teams	March, BRM, Ferrari, Brabham, McLaren
Races	177 (171 starts)
Championships	3 (1975, 1977, 1984)
Wins	25
Podiums	54
Career points	420.5
Pole positions	24
Fastest laps	24
First race	1971 Austrian Grand Prix
First win	1974 Spanish Grand Prix
Last win	1985 Dutch Grand Prix
Last race	1985 Australian Grand Prix

Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (born February 22, 1949 in Vienna) is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines and was manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years.

Early years in racing[link]

Lauda was born in Vienna, Austria, to a wealthy family. His paternal grandfather was the Viennese-born businessman Hans Lauda.^[1][2]

Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. After starting out with a Mini, Lauda moved on into Formula Vee, as was normal in Central Europe, but rapidly moved up to drive in private Porsche and Chevron sports cars. His career seemed to be going nowhere in particular until he took out a large bank loan, secured by a life insurance policy, to buy his way into the fledgling March team as a Formula 2 (F2) driver in 1971. He was quickly promoted to the F1 team and drove for March in both F1 and F2 in 1972. Although the F2 cars were good (and Lauda's test-driving skills impressed March principal Robin Herd), March's 1972 F1 season was catastrophic and Lauda, in despair and deep debt, briefly contemplated suicide but finally took out yet another bank loan to buy his way into the BRM team in 1973. Lauda was instantly quick but the team was in decline; his big break came when his BRM team-mate Clay Regazzoni rejoined Ferrari in 1974 and team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke favourably of Lauda, so Ferrari promptly went and signed him, paying Niki enough to clear his debts.

Ferrari 1974-1977[link]

After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his début race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory – and the first for Ferrari since 1972 – followed only three races later in Spain. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car.

The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda, but after nothing better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races he then won four out of the next five races in the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP. He also became the first and only driver to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under 7 minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nürburgring was 2 miles longer than it is today.

Unlike 1975, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It would be a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963.

Niki Lauda practicing at the Nürburgring during the 1976 German Grand Prix

A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, (even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time) Lauda tried to boycott the race, largely due to the 23 kilometer circuit's safety arrangements. Most of the other drivers voted against it and the race went ahead. On the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda's Ferrari swerved off the track, due to a suspected rear suspension failure, hit an embankment and rolled back into the path of Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Lauda's Ferrari burst into flames, but, unlike Lunger, he was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before they were able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma.^[3]

Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns. He only had enough reconstructive surgery to get his eyelids to work properly, but never felt a need to do any more. His right ear is mostly gone. Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising.

With Lauda out of the contest, Ferrari boycotted the Austrian GP in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British GPs. Carlos Reutemann was even taken on as a potential replacement.

Lauda returned to race only six weeks (two races) later, finishing fourth in the Italian GP. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had reduced his lead in the World Championship standings. Following wins in the Canadian and United States GPs, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese GP.

Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after 2 laps, stating that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions. Hunt led much of the race before a late puncture dropped him down the order. He recovered to 3rd, thus winning the title by a single point. In spite of this, Lauda's move is seen as one of the bravest examples in motor racing.

Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the race, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left early due to the team's decision to run the then unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Brabham, retirement, McLaren comeback and second retirement 1978-1985[link]

Five years after his first retirement, Lauda won his third title driving a McLaren MP4/2.

Having joined Brabham in 1978 for a $1 million salary, Lauda endured two unsuccessful seasons, notable mainly for his one race in the Brabham BT46B, a radical design known as the Fan Car: it won its first race, but Brabham did not use the car in F1 again, not wanting the car to be banned outright. At the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, Lauda informed Brabham owner Bernie Ecclestone that he wished to retire immediately, as he had no more desire to "drive around in circles". Lauda, who had founded a charter airline, returned to Austria to run the company full-time.

Needing money to shore up his new business, in 1982 Lauda returned to racing, feeling that he still had a career in Formula One. After a successful test with McLaren, the only problem was in convincing then team sponsor Marlboro that he was still capable of winning. Lauda proved he was still quite capable when, in his third race back, he won the Long Beach Grand Prix. Lauda won a third world championship in 1984 by half a point over teammate Alain Prost, due to only half points being awarded for the shortened 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. His Austrian Grand Prix victory that year is the most recent and so far only time an Austrian has won his home Grand Prix.

1985 was a poor season for Lauda, with eleven retirements from the fourteen races he started, he did not start the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps after crashing and breaking his wrist during practice, he also later missed the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch; John Watson replaced him for that race. He did manage 4th at the San Marino Grand Prix, 5th at the German Grand Prix, and a single race win at the Dutch Grand Prix. This proved to be his last Grand Prix victory and also the last Formula One Grand Prix held in the Netherlands. He retired for good at the end of that season.

Helmet[link]

Lauda's helmet originally was a plain red with his full name written on the sides and the Raiffeisen Bank logo in the chin area. He wore a modified AGV helmet in the weeks following his Nürburgring accident so as the lining would not aggravate his burned scalp too badly. In 1982, upon his return for McLaren, his helmet became white with the red 'L' of Lauda Air on the sides, complete with branding from his personal sponsor Parmalat on the top. For 1983-1985, the red and white were reversed to evoke memories of his earlier design.

Life after F1 1986-[link]

Lauda returned to running his airline, Lauda Air, on his second Formula One retirement in 1985. During his time as airline manager, he was appointed consultant at Ferrari as part of an effort by Montezemolo to rejuvenate the team.^[4] Ousted from his airline by boardroom politics after a sale to majority partner Austrian Airlines in 1999, he managed the Jaguar Formula One racing team from 2001 to 2002. In late 2003, he started a new airline, Niki. Lauda holds a commercial pilot's license and from time to time acts as a captain on the flights of his airline.

He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and since 1996 has provided commentary on Grands Prix for Austrian and German television on RTL. He was, however, rapped for calling Robert Kubica a "polack" on air in May 2010 at the Monaco Grand Prix.^[5][6]

Niki Lauda has written five books: The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving (titled Formula 1: The Art and Technicalities of Grand Prix Driving in some markets) (1975); My Years With Ferrari (1978); The New Formula One: A Turbo Age (1984); Meine Story (titled To Hell and Back in some markets) (1986); Das dritte Leben (1996).^[7] Lauda credits Austrian journalist Herbert Volker with editing the books.

Lauda is sometimes known by the nickname "the rat", "SuperRat" or "King Rat" because of his prominent bucked teeth. He has been associated with both Parmalat and Viessmann, sponsoring his ever faithful 'cappy' from 1976 onwards, used to hide the severe burns he sustained in his 1976 accident. Lauda admitted in a 2009 interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit that an advertiser currently pays €1.2m for the space on his famous red cap.^[8]

In 2008, American sports television network ESPN ranked him 22nd on their top drivers of all-time.^[9] In 2005 the Austrian post office issued a stamp honouring him.^[10]

Lauda is played by Daniel Bruhl in the 2012 Ron Howard film Rush about the 1976 Formula One season.

Personal life[link]

Lauda had two sons with his first wife, Marlene: Mathias, a racing driver himself, and Lukas, his brother's manager. They divorced in 1991. He also has an illegitimate son, Christoph. In 2008 he married Birgit, who was 30 years his junior and was formerly a flight attendant for his airline. She had also donated a kidney to Lauda when the kidney he received in a transplant from his brother years earlier failed. In September 2009 Birgit gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl.^[11]

Complete Formula One results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)