Niki Lauda: The Reason We Carry a Red Star on Our Car

There’s a very special reason one of the three-pointed stars is a different colour…

“I think about him every single day. When things were too easy, he got bored. When it got tough, this is where his determination came out.”

So said Toto last year, reflecting on one of the most remarkable members of our team. Sadly one no longer with us. Someone who helped make the team what it is. Embedded the values we all live and breathe. It is of course, the late, great Niki Lauda.

Although Niki is no longer with us in person, his spirit is at the heart of everything we do and today of all days, on his birthday, we remember the great man.

Niki was straightforward, honest, and forthright. He pursued his goals with passion and resolve. He combined that with humour and a zeal for life. Those attributes brought him success in multiple walks of life: as a racing driver, a businessman, and a figure for people around the world to be inspired by. In short, he was an icon.

That iconicity was embodied in one item: Niki’s red cap. He wore it throughout his career and many vintage moments for the team saw Toto and Niki, adorned in his famous headwear, celebrating together. At every race since Niki’s passing, a red cap hangs at the entrance to our garage. It reminds us of his incredible contribution, what he stood for, and encourages us all to live up to the lofty standards he set.

Since his untimely passing before the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix weekend, we’ve also carried another tribute. Featuring on every car since has been one special three-pointed star turned red, mirroring the colour of Niki’s cap. Every lap we turn is done so with Niki on board. And that will be the case for long into the future.

"The small, red, three-pointed star is going to stay on the car forever,” Toto confirmed at that weekend nearly five years ago. “Unless we find something which we really believe is worth Niki Lauda, then this is what we're doing.”

Danke, Niki

There was one more tribute the team would unveil in due course. Now, every time the race cars return to the factory in Brackley carrying that special red star, they drive down the same road that each and every team member does every day: Lauda Drive.

We wouldn’t have it any other way.