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F1 pays respect to Niki Lauda at Vienna funeral

Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff and Alain Prost among F1 stars in attendance as Niki Lauda is laid to rest in home city of Vienna

Thursday 30 May 2019 06:12, UK

Image: (left to right) Alain Prost, Helmut Marko, Lewis Hamilton, Jean Alesi, Nelson Piquet and were among those escorting Niki Lauda's coffin at his funeral in Vienna

Formula 1 stars of past and present - including Lewis Hamilton - paid their respects to the great Niki Lauda at his funeral in Vienna on Wednesday.

Hamilton, who raced to victory in the Monaco GP on Sunday in a helmet bearing Lauda's colours and name, escorted the coffin out of St Stephen's Cathedral, along with Alain Prost and Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, among others.

Brundle: Lauda, Lewis and Monaco

Lauda, a triple world F1 champion best remembered for his comeback from a fiery crash in 1976 that left him badly burned and scarred him for life, died last week at the age of 70.

Image: Lauda's coffin is carried out of St Stephen's Cathedral
Image: Hamilton (C) and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff (R) arrive for Lauda's funeral
Image: Prost (C), arriving with Nigel Mansell (L), was Lauda's last F1 team-mate at McLaren
Image: Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto (R) arrives with other team members
Image: Nico Rosberg (R) had a close relationship with Lauda at Mercedes
Image: Red Bull's Helmut Marko (L) and Christian Horner (R)
Image: Austrian-born actor turned US Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (L)

Lauda's former McLaren team-mate Prost gave a reading from the Old Testament at the private ceremony.

Fellow Austrian racing driver Gerhard Berger, Austrian-born star Arnold Schwarzenegger and two Austrian dignitaries -President Alexander Van der Bellen and recently ousted Chancellor Sebastian Kurz - also gave short speeches at the end of the service.

Image: In the morning his coffin was placed in St Stephen's Cathedral, with his iconic red racing helmet on top
Image: Birgit Wetzinger (C), Lauda's widow, and his sons Mathias Lauda (L) and Lukas Lauda (R) pay their respects
Image: Lauda passed away at the age of 70 last week
Image: Fans queued in the rain to say their last goodbye to the Austrian

Lauda was buried at a smaller ceremony later in the day.

Hundreds of fans queued in the rain to pay their last respects to the motorsport legend as he lay in state in St. Stephen's Cathedral in the morning.

Image: Lauda will be buried at a smaller ceremony later in the day

Members of Lauda's family accompanied pallbearers carrying his remains into the gothic cathedral in the morning. His wife Birgit and two of his sons placed Lauda's red-and-white driver's helmet on the casket.

Fans then came in and filed past the coffin that was placed on a platform in the centre of the cathedral.

Remembering Niki Lauda

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Martin Brundle's tribute to the much-loved and enigmatic three-time F1 World Champion Niki Lauda, after he passed away this week.

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