1974-04-28 312 B3-74 (12) Niki Lauda ESP - Jarama 1
On April 28, 1974, Niki Lauda won his first GP with this Ferrari 312 74 in Jarama, Spain.
Niki Lauda was born on 22 February 1949 in Vienna, Austria. He became a racing driver despite his rich family's disapproval.
Drove for March in F1 and F2 in 1972. Lauda took out bank loan to buy his way into the BRM team in 1973. Lauda was instantly quick, but the team was in decline. Lauda's star was on the rise after he ran 3rd at the Monaco Grand Prix that year, and Enzo Ferrari became interested. When his BRM teammate Clay Regazzoni left to rejoin Ferrari in 1974, team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke so favourably of Lauda that Ferrari promptly signed him, paying him enough to clear his debts.
After a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. After retiremens in Brazil and South Africa, He had his first Grand Prix (GP) victory – and the first for Ferrari since 1972 – in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The legend was in the making.
