Editing Niki Lauda (section)

==McLaren comeback, third world title, and second retirement (1982–1985)==
[[File:Lauda at 1982 Dutch Grand Prix.jpg|thumb|right|Lauda at the [[1982 Dutch Grand Prix]]]]

In 1982, Lauda returned to racing, for an unprecedented $3&nbsp;million salary.<ref name="BBCSportObit" /> After a successful test with [[McLaren]], the only problem was to convince then team sponsor [[Marlboro (cigarette)|Marlboro]] that he was still capable of winning. Lauda proved he was when, in his third race back, he won the [[1982 United States Grand Prix West|Long Beach Grand Prix]]. Before the opening race of the season at [[Kyalami]] race track in [[South Africa]], Lauda was the organiser of the so-called "drivers' [[Strike action|strike]]"; Lauda had seen that the new [[FIA Super Licence|Super Licence]] required the drivers to commit themselves to their present teams and realised that this could hinder a driver's negotiating position. The drivers, with the exception of [[Teo Fabi]], barricaded themselves in a banqueting suite at Sunnyside Park Hotel until they had won the day.{{sfn|Folley|2009|p=79ff}}

The 1983 season proved to be transitional for the McLaren team as they were making a change from [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]-[[Cosworth]] engines, to [[Techniques d'Avant Garde|TAG]]-badged [[Porsche]] turbo engines, and Lauda did not win a race that year, with his best finish being second at Long Beach behind his teammate [[John Watson (racing driver)|John Watson]]. Some political maneuvering by Lauda forced a furious chief designer [[John Barnard]] to design an interim car earlier than expected to get the TAG-Porsche engine some much-needed race testing; Lauda nearly won the last race of the season in [[1983 South African Grand Prix|South Africa]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Niki Lauda's greatest Formula 1 races |url=https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/niki-laudas-greatest-formula-1-races-4982511/4982511/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241206171849/https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/niki-laudas-greatest-formula-1-races-4982511/4982511/ |archive-date=6 December 2024 |access-date=2025-03-12 |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Lauda McLaren MP4-2 1984 Dallas F1.jpg|thumb|left|Five years after his first retirement, Lauda won his third title driving a [[McLaren MP4/2]].]]
Lauda won a third world championship in [[1984 Formula One season|1984]] by half a point over teammate [[Alain Prost]], due only to half points being awarded for the shortened [[1984 Monaco Grand Prix]]. His [[1984 Austrian Grand Prix|Austrian Grand Prix]] victory that year is so far the only time an Austrian has won his home Grand Prix.<ref>Austrian Grand Prix, John Blakemore Photograph Collection, Revs Institute, [https://library.revsinstitute.org/digital/custom/single-image?id=522685&collection=p17257coll1 Revs Digital Library.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728171831/https://library.revsinstitute.org/digital/custom/single-image?id=522685&collection=p17257coll1 |date=28 July 2021 }}</ref> Initially, Lauda did not want Prost to become his teammate, as he presented a much faster rival. However, during the two seasons together, they had a good relationship and Lauda later said that beating the talented Frenchman was a big motivator for him.{{sfn|Folley|2009|p=153}} The whole season continued to be dominated by Lauda and Prost, who won 12 of 16 races. Lauda won five races, while Prost won seven. However, Lauda, who set a record for the most pole positions in a season during the 1975 season, rarely matched his teammate in qualifying. Lauda's championship win came in [[1984 Portuguese Grand Prix|Portugal]], when he had to start in eleventh place on the grid, while Prost qualified on the front row. Prost did everything he could, starting from second and winning his seventh race of the season, but Lauda's calculating drive (which included setting the fastest race lap), passing car after car, saw him finish second behind his teammate which gave him enough points to win his third title.<ref>Portuguese Grand Prix, John Blakemore Photograph Collection, Revs Institute, [https://library.revsinstitute.org/digital/custom/single-image?id=526485&collection=p17257coll1 Revs Digital Library.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728171803/https://library.revsinstitute.org/digital/custom/single-image?id=526485&collection=p17257coll1 |date=28 July 2021 }}</ref> His second place was a lucky one though as [[Nigel Mansell]] was in second for much of the race. However, as it was his last race with [[Team Lotus|Lotus]] before joining [[WilliamsF1|Williams]] in 1985, Lotus boss [[Peter Warr]] refused to give Mansell the brakes he wanted for [[Lotus 95T|his car]] and the Englishman retired with brake failure on lap 52. As Lauda had passed the [[Toleman TG184|Toleman]] of rookie [[Ayrton Senna]] for third place only a few laps earlier, Mansell's retirement elevated him to second behind Prost.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Lauda had signed an initial letter of intent to leave McLaren team and join Renault for the [[1985 Formula One World Championship|1985 season]].{{sfn|Lauda|Völker|1986|p={{page needed|date=December 2024}}}} The agreement was not implemented and Lauda stayed with McLaren for the 1985 season.<ref>{{Cite web |title=McLaren pays tribute to Niki Lauda |url=https://www.mclaren.com/racing/latest-news/mclarenracing/article/mclaren-pays-tribute-niki-lauda/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=www.mclaren.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=22 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222070604/https://www.mclaren.com/racing/latest-news/mclarenracing/article/mclaren-pays-tribute-niki-lauda/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The 1985 season was a disappointment for Lauda, with eleven retirements from the fourteen races he started. He did not start the [[1985 Belgian Grand Prix|Belgian Grand Prix]] at [[Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps|Spa-Francorchamps]] after crashing and breaking his wrist during practice, and he later missed the [[1985 European Grand Prix|European Grand Prix]] at [[Brands Hatch]]; John Watson replaced him for that race. He did manage fourth at the [[1985 San Marino Grand Prix|San Marino Grand Prix]], 5th at the [[1985 German Grand Prix|German Grand Prix]], and a single race win at the [[1985 Dutch Grand Prix|Dutch Grand Prix]] where he held off a fast-finishing Prost late in the race. This proved to be his last Grand Prix victory, as after announcing his impending retirement at the [[1985 Austrian Grand Prix]], he retired for good at the end of that season.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Augustyn |first=Adam |title=Niki Lauda |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Niki-Lauda |access-date=25 October 2024 |website=Britannica}}</ref>

Lauda's final Formula One Grand Prix drive was the inaugural [[Australian Grand Prix]] in [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]]. After qualifying 16th, a steady drive saw him leading by lap 53. However, the McLaren's ceramic brakes suffered on the [[Adelaide Street Circuit|street circuit]] and he crashed out of the lead at the end of the long Brabham Straight on lap 57 when his brakes finally failed.<ref>{{cite web | last=Robinson | first=Peter | title=Niki Lauda: Walking away | website=WhichCar | date=21 May 2019 | url=https://www.whichcar.com.au/features/niki-lauda-walking-away | access-date=5 May 2023 | archive-date=23 June 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623045332/https://www.whichcar.com.au/features/niki-lauda-walking-away | url-status=live }}</ref> He was one of only two drivers in the race who had driven in the non-championship [[1984 Australian Grand Prix]], the other being {{f1|1982}} World Champion [[Keke Rosberg]], who won in Adelaide in 1985 and took Lauda's place at McLaren in 1986.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beating the odds in Adelaide |url=https://www.mclaren.com/racing/heritage/formula-1/drivers/alain-prost/beating-the-odds-in-adelaide-2264836/ |access-date=25 October 2024 |website=McLaren}}</ref>
[[File:Niki Lauda helmet Museo Ferrari.jpg|thumb|Lauda's helmet from the 1970s, at the [[Museo Ferrari]] in Maranello]]

===Helmet===
Lauda's helmet was originally painted plain red with his full name written on both sides and the [[Raiffeisen Bank International|Raiffeisen Bank]] logo in the chin area. He wore a modified [[AGV (helmet manufacturer)|AGV]] helmet in the weeks following his Nürburgring accident so as the lining would not aggravate his burned scalp too badly. In 1982, upon his return to McLaren, his helmet was white and featured the red "L" logo of Lauda Air instead of his name on both sides, complete with branding from his personal sponsor [[Parmalat]] on the top. From 1983 to 1985, the red and white were reversed to evoke memories of his earlier helmet design.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}