Fans pay their respects at Niki Lauda's funeral

Thousands of fans have been paying their respects to Niki Lauda at a mass in Vienna for the late F1 legend after he sadly passed away last week. He passed away aged 70 after being treated for kidney problems.

The three-time World Champion's coffin was carried into St Stephens cathedral on Wednesday morning and was decorated with a reef and his iconic red helmet. A private funeral will take place after the mass where fans from across the globe will be able to pay their final respects.

Formula 1 legends, Lewis Hamilton and Alain Post are expected to be in attendance with the prior dedicating his recent Monaco Grand Prix win to the Austrian. Lauda had worked as non-executive chairman for Mercedes and Hamilton attributes his move to the Silver Arrows to him.

The Austrian almost died whilst racing at the 1976 German Grand Prix suffering severe burns but was back racing just weeks later and won two titles after the incident.