Mercedes and Sebastian Vettel Unveil Special Livery and Helmet to Honour Niki Lauda

The Formula One paddock was deeply shocked when F1 legend Niki Lauda passed away on Tuesday at the age of 70. That day, tributes poured in for the late Austrian and condolences were conveyed to his family. There were even some emotional ones from Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff and driver, Lewis Hamilton.

Now, ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, the Mercedes team have gone a step further and unveiled a tribute livery. On the back of the car, where all the silver and grey stars, a lone red star is present along with the others. According to the Mercedes team, the red star represents Niki Lauda.

They unveiled the new livery on Twitter and someone asked how long will the livery be on. They responded that it will be present all season long.

Outside the Mercedes factory, bouquets of flowers were also laid out in front of a plaque. Meanwhile, Scuderia Ferrari also paid a special tribute to the late Austrian. At the Ferrari museum, all the lights were trained on Lauda’s championship-winning Ferrari.

Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel also unveiled a special helmet in tribute to Lauda. It largely resembled Lauda’s original helmet.

Other tributes came from the Haas F1 team, with the name Niki Lauda emblazoned on the back of the car.