Rosberg 'strongly inspired' by Lauda

Lauda, Rosberg — Nico Rosberg says he and Niki Lauda's 100 million fans all over the world were strongly inspired by the Austrian great.

London, May 21: Nico Rosberg expressed his gratitude for the influence Niki Lauda had on his career after the three-time Formula One champion died at the age of 70.

Lauda's family on Tuesday announced that the Austrian great had passed away nine months after he underwent a lung transplant.

Rosberg quit after winning his maiden F1 title in 2016, having benefited from Mercedes non-executive chairman Lauda's expertise and advice.

The German driver paid tribute to the inspirational Lauda - who made an astonishing comeback in 1976 only six weeks after suffering serious injuries in a crash at Nurburgring - on social media.

Also read: Tribute | Timeline | Twitter reaction

"Dear Niki. Thank you for everything that you did for me." he posted on Twitter and Instagram.

"I learned so much from you. Your passion, your fighting spirit, to never give up, your belief that you always meet twice in life, and even your patience with us youngsters.

"Myself and all of your 100 million fans around the world, whom you also so strongly inspired to never give up in the hardest of times, are thinking of you and your family and wish that you rest in peace."

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Lieber Niki. Danke fuer alles. Ich habe auch so viel von dir gelernt. Deine leidenschafft, deinen kampfgeist, deine wiedergutmachungs staerke, und sogar deine geduld mit uns jungen fahrern! Ich und deine 100 millionen riesen fans denen du in deinem leben auch so viel ermutigung gegeben hast in schweren zeiten nicht aufzugeben denken ganz stark an dich und deine familie. Ruhe in Frieden. Nico Dear Niki. Thank you for everything that you did for me. I learned so much from you. Your passion, your fighting spirit, never give up, your belief that you always meet twice in life, and even your patience with us youngsters. Myself and all of your 100 million fans around the world whom you also so strongly inspired to never give up in the hardest of times are thinking of you and your family and wish that you Rest in Peace. #formula1 #f1 #formel1 #nikilauda #lauda #mercedesamgf1

A post shared by NICO ROSBERG (@nicorosberg) on May 20, 2019 at 11:02pm PDT