(UTV|COLOMBO) – World champion Lewis Hamilton has paid tribute to Niki Lauda by saying he was “a bright light in my life”.
Lauda, who won the Formula 1 drivers’ championship in 1975, 1977 and 1984, died aged 70.
Hamilton worked alongside Lauda with the Mercedes F1 team, where the Austrian was non-executive chairman.
“I will miss our conversations, our laughs, the big hugs after winning races together,” Briton Hamilton said on Twitter.
Lauda helped Mercedes win both the drivers’ and constructors’ title in the past five seasons.
Five-time world champion Hamilton added: “I am struggling to believe you are gone. God rest your soul. Thank you for being a bright light in my life. I will always be here for your family should they ever need me. Love you man.”
Lauda competed in a total of 171 F1 races, winning 25 of them and claiming 54 podium finishes.
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