'No one can replace breakfast with Niki Lauda'

Yesterday it was exactly one year ago that triple F1 champion Niki Lauda died. He is still sorely missed by the whole Formula 1 world. German paper Bild talked to some important people who were close to Lauda.

Racer at heart

"Niki is someone I miss, and I think we all miss her very much. We had a great relationship. We traveled together, I spent some time with him in Ibiza. He was such a positive, funny, entertaining guy, he always had the best stories in store", says Lewis Hamilton.

"He was a racing driver through and through. He was always thinking about how we could improve. After the races, he'd come back a lot and ask things like, "Hey, Lewis, what do you need to get better? He was always on the hunt", Hamilton continued.

Nobody can replace him

Helmut Marko believes that the discussion about the budget ceiling would have been a lot quicker if Lauda had still been there. "At Mercedes Wolff is now the only contact", says Marko. "I usually have breakfast alone, sometimes there are other people with me, but no one can replace a breakfast with Niki Lauda."

Nico Rosberg also has some nice words for Lauda. "Today, now that I'm an entrepreneur myself, I think about Niki all the more. I am often confronted with challenges where I could use Niki's advice. His honest feedback has always helped me in my Formula 1 career."

"Niki taught me to always trust your talent, you should never doubt that", adds Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas. "You always have to remind yourself that you don't doubt your driving style. And I've learned from him not to let my head hang after disappointments."