Lauda: “I was never afraid for my life”

“Back then I was only in the hospital for a month - or a little longer. Yes, I had burns, but I got over it quickly," said Lauda in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport: "This time it was really long. But I’m still here.”

The Austrian did not fear for his life. “I have to be honest: No, I was never afraid. Because I was in the hands of experts,” said Lauda, who spoke in detail in an interview for the first time since the operation on August 2nd: “I confided in them. I knew it would be hard, very hard. In such situations there is only one thing you can do: fight. I have done it every moment and still do.”

Lauda spends Christmas with his family in Ibiza. “I was still in the hospital until two days ago. Then I received permission to return home. “I flew to Ibiza, where I will celebrate Christmas with my big, lovely family,” said the chairman of the supervisory board of the Formula 1 racing team Mercedes.

On the Mediterranean island, Lauda continues to work on getting completely healthy again. “I have to undergo rehabilitation every day for six hours a day. Two rehabilitation experts don't leave me alone for a moment," he said: "But being within my own walls is something different. The air is clean and the climate is not as unfriendly as in Austria. I was told that I would be completely fit again in a month and that I could start again. I want to go back to my everyday life, I will follow the races as before.”

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Lauda: “I was never afraid for my life”

For Formula 1 legend Niki Lauda (69), the time in the hospital following his lung transplant was harder than after his terrible fire accident at the Nürburgring in 1976.

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