Editing Niki Lauda (section)

==Personal life==
Lauda dated Mariella von Reininghaus until 1975. In 1976 he married the Chilean-Austrian Marlene Knaus. They divorced in 1991. Lauda and Knaus had two sons, [[Mathias Lauda|Mathias]], a racing driver, and Lukas, who acted as Mathias's manager. In 1992 Lauda briefly dated racing driver [[Giovanna Amati]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nzz.ch/sport/formel-1-giovanna-amati-war-vor-30-jahren-die-letzte-frau-ld.1677806 | title=Formel 1: Giovanna Amati war vor 30 Jahren die letzte Frau | newspaper=Neue Zürcher Zeitung | date=3 April 2022 | last1=Brümmer | first1=Elmar }}</ref> In 2008 he married Birgit Wetzinger, a flight attendant for his airline. In 2005, Wetzinger donated a kidney to Lauda after the kidney he had received from his brother in 1997 failed.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 April 1997 |title=Lauda Has Transplant |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/25/sports/lauda-has-transplant.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806151209/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/25/sports/lauda-has-transplant.html |archive-date=6 August 2018 |access-date=7 August 2018 |work=The New York Times |agency=[[The Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/niki-lauda-in-kidney-transplant-209636.html|title=Niki Lauda 'in kidney transplant'|date=1 July 2005|work=[[Irish Examiner]]|access-date=7 August 2018|archive-date=6 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806180208/https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/niki-lauda-in-kidney-transplant-209636.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2009, Birgit gave birth to twins, Max and Mia.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.si.com/fannation/racing/f1briefings/news/niki-laudas-widow-causes-family-turmoil-after-filing-lawsuit-for-staggering-amount-of-money-lm22 | title=Niki Lauda's Widow Causes Family Turmoil After Filing Lawsuit for Staggering Amount of Money | date=8 April 2023 }}</ref>

Lauda spoke fluent [[German language|German]], [[English language|English]] and [[Italian language|Italian]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0_euri2W5U |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/S0_euri2W5U| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=GdP – al telefono con Niki Lauda|author=TelenovaMSP|date=17 May 2011|access-date=3 June 2019|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Lauda came from a Catholic family. In an interview with ''Zeit'' he stated that he left the church for a time to avoid paying [[Church tax#Austria|church taxes]], but went back when he had his two children baptised.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.zeit.de/sport/2014-05/tuvia-tenenbom-niki-lauda-formel1-jesus|title=Fett wie ein Turnschuh: Rennfahrer kommen in die Hölle|first=Tuvia|last=Tenenbom|date=16 May 2014|access-date=4 June 2019|newspaper=Die Zeit|archive-date=7 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407042427/https://www.zeit.de/sport/2014-05/tuvia-tenenbom-niki-lauda-formel1-jesus|url-status=live}}</ref>