© Paul Ripke for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, James Allison and Andy Cowell join in with their tributes to Niki Lauda on the one-year anniversary of his passing.
Earlier today we published tributes to Niki Lauda from Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff, and now Valtteri Bottas, Technical Director James Allison and Mercedes’ engine boss Andy Cowell join in with their emotional words.
Valtteri Bottas
“From Niki I learned to always trust your talent, never doubt it, to really always remind yourself that you should not doubt your driving style, the way you do your things in the car. I also learned from him not to let your head get too down from disappointments and how to recover from them quicker and to look forward to more positive times.
“Niki inspired me just by giving his support always when I needed it. He was the person that inspired me in the difficult times, he was always there with his support, for me to bounce back and to remind myself why I am doing this and that I am good enough to do it. He was very good at that.”
James Allison
“Niki is someone who’s life was huge, bold, sweeping and brave and big enough to fill 10 autobiographies. Yet he didn’t spend any time talking either about himself or reliving past glories.
“He was about looking ahead, he was much, much more interested in engaging with us about the challenges the team faced and the opportunities that lay ahead of us and he was a massive, massive friend to our team.
“He was our Chairman. He was equally adept in the board room and with the fans. He would represent us with F1 and the FIA. He would spend time with the press always representing us at the highest level. And he is a big part, an important part why the cupboards are stuffed full of silverware both at Brackley and at Brixworth.”
Andy Cowell
“Niki Lauda: A Formula 1 legend and an amazing colleague, an amazing person to learn from, to learn about having true determination, good focus, to achieve amazing things. Through 2013 he visited the factory frequently to help us stay focussed and solve problems.
“When he arrived everybody paid attention, everybody would listen to his words of advice. Simple words of advice and you take away the key things that we need to do and he would remind us of those.
“He often reminded me of the numbers that I had told him. He had a keen sense of memory for those bits of detail.
“I have learned so much from Niki. He is a person that I am proud that I have known and taken lots of advice from over the years. Thank you, Niki.”
