Snapshots of a unique life story

Niki Lauda and Herbert Völker were already together long before the legendary racing driver made the leap into Formula 1. Their friendship lasted for decades and has resulted in the most diverse treasure trove imaginable. For the first time the smaller and larger snapshots of a unique career and life story have been curated by Völker in a mesmerizing book.

A search for traces between the dramas of a Hollywood-like global career and a thoroughly exciting life behind the scenes: Original recordings of Lauda’s descriptions of his upper middle-class childhood reveal that Lauda’s refusal of education left motorsport as a last resort, fortunately with huge talent and legendary perseverance. Based on hundreds of encounters with the champion, Herbert Völker outlines the development of the entire Grand Prix sport—via technology, business and society, starting with Enzo Ferrari, the larger-than-life founding figure of the Ferrari brand and myth. Epochs of technology pass by in fast motion: the revolution in aerodynamics, the turbo age and the completely new architectonics of the electronically networked car—everything in motor racing always happened a few years before normal developments. The book leads us through the personal stories of the three-time Formula 1 world champion, his triumphs and accidents as well as different crossroads in his life as with Bernie Ecclestone and Willi Dungl, James Hunt and Bruno Kreisky.