Book Review: The Biography of Niki Lauda by Maurice Hamilton

Although the global COVID lockdown is frustrating for all F1 fans, I’m told one benefit (if there is one) has been the re-discovery of F1 books (I also think there’s been a recovery in the diecast market too, but that’’s for another later post). The most recent book on my reading list has been Maurice Hamilton’s tribute biography of the 3 times world champion Niki Lauda who passed last year.

Niki Lauda’s F1 career is the stuff of legend – unsurprisingly dramatised in the 2013 movie Rush. Maurice Hamilton’s biography is a look at Niki Lauda from various angles from people who worked with him as a racing driver, business man, F1 media pundit and Mercedes AMG chairman.

In order to cover his full career, Maurice Hamilton moves things along at a decent clip and doesn’t dwell too long on individual races but offers enough interview quotes to provide insights. While he draws on source material and quotes from earlier books, Maurice Hamilton has still managed to interview for this book – drivers including Gerhard Berger, Jean Alesi, Eddie Irvine, John Watson, Lewis Hamilton; team personnel – Mauro Forghieri, Toto Wolff, Paddy Lowe, Bernie Ecclestone, Eddie Jordan, John Hogan, other motorsport journalists like Herbert Völker, Daniel Brühl the actor who played Niki in the Rush movie and also both Niki’s sons. Nico Rosberg pens the book’s foreword too.

There are 36 chapters but the timeline covered is really from the early entry into F1 via March, progressing to Ferrari, sparring with James Hunt, his big accident, falling out with Enzo Ferrari, moving to Brabham, Laud Air, coming back wth McLaren, retirement, Jaquar, Mercedes, the Rush movie and his state funeral.

As with most paperbacks – the book has 16 centre pages of photos – the early career photos are easily the best.

Already owning and having read other Lauda books (like Niki’s own excellent “To Hell & Back” and “For the Record“, which Maurice Hamilton used as source material for this book), I found the 2nd half of the book covering his McLaren stint and post-retirement phase – Jaguar, Mercedes, Rush movie, etc. which has had less coverage in print books. For modern F1 fans, the story quotes with Toto Wolf, Paddy Lowe and Niki himself on Mercedes F1 team are a great read.

I’ve yet to read the other recent Lauda book “Niki Lauda – His Competition History” by John Saltinstall (which I believe is an examination of each of Niki’s career races from 1968 to 1985 similar to Christopher Hilton’s book “Michael Schumacher – The Definitive Race by Race Record”) but Maurice Hamilton’s book definitely rates highly as one of the best books on Lauda (aside from the books by Niki himself ). I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one.

Wow Factor/Money shot: All the early B&W and pre-1976 photos – including Niki’s 1972 driver contract with March!

Suitable for: Niki Lauda, Ferrari, Mercedes and 70s F1 fans.