Enzo Ferrari was disappointed by Niki Lauda leaving Ferrari for Brabham, which forced the former to call the F1 legend a traitor.
Niki Lauda in Ferrari was a sensation. The former F1 legend won two out of his three championships with the Italian team. Thus, it was tough for them to have him go
In 1977, when Lauda won the championship with two races to go, he told his boss Enzo Ferrari that he would be leaving his team for Bernie Ecclestone’s Brabham.
Agitated with this information, Ferrari first tried to make Lauda stay. But when the former F1 champion didn’t bow to his then boss’ wishes, Ferrari called him a traitor.
“I told Ferrari I was leaving to Brabham,” said Lauda as per the Human side of racing. “And Enzo was surprised and disappointed. He asked me how much Bernie was paying me, but it (the amount) didn’t matter to me.”
“I had decided to leave and felt so relieved when I left his office. Retrospectively, it was a mistake, I would have won more races and championships had I stayed, but it definitely felt the right thing to do at the time.”
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How Niki Lauda got fed up with F1
In his debut season with Brabham, Lauda had a satisfying year. With them, he finished fourth in the championship and got two race wins along the way.
But in the following year, Lauda received a non-competitive car from Brabham. He only had grabbed four races in the season prior to the penultimate race in Canada. At that stage, Lauda decided to walk away from racing, and start his own airline.
Will never get tired of sharing this story about Niki Lauda after he won the 1977 South African GP.
He would have turned 73 today ❤️ pic.twitter.com/VF1KczzCHe
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) February 22, 2022
How did he change Mercedes’ fortunes?
Lauda joined Mercedes’ team in 2012 as an advisor, and since then the team has gone on to dominate F1. He was influential in getting Lewis Hamilton from McLaren, and the rest is history.
In his tenure with the team, Mercedes won six championships in a row. Thus, cementing his legacy in F1 even further. The F1 legend died in May 2019, and the whole paddock mourned.
Everyone at Ferrari is deeply saddened at the news of the death of our dear friend Niki Lauda. He won two of his three world championships with us and will always be in our hearts and in those of all Ferrari fans. Our sincere condolences go to all his family and friends.#CiaoNiki pic.twitter.com/mbzZBNZiRZ
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) May 21, 2019
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