Formula 1 has announced that there will be a minute of silence in honour of racing legend Niki Lauda ahead of the start of the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, while Mercedes have painted the halo on their car bright red in honour of their deceased Chairman.
The F1 Media office announced in a press release: “Everyone in Formula 1 is still mourning the recent demise of three times world champion Niki Lauda. His life will be celebrated in a special way on Sunday 26 May at the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix.”
“A minute’s silence will be observed on the starting grid at 14.53 CET. Along with the 20 drivers and dignitaries who are usually lined up at the front of the grid for the national anthem of the host nation, those who played a special role in Lauda’s career – his contemporaries and his peers – will also be there, each one holding a red cap as a tribute to the Austrian champion.”
“Formula 1, the FIA, the Automobile Club de Monaco and all ten teams want to invite all fans attending the race in the Monaco grandstands to pay their own tribute to the driver who won here in the Principality in 1975 and 1976, during the in-lap of this the 90th edition of the race.”
“They can either wear a red cap, display a message on a banner, or simply applaud, while those watching from the yachts in the harbour can sound their klaxons, anything appropriate to honour the memory of one of the sport’s true heroes.”
Among numerous tributes in Lauda’s honour this weekend, Mercedes will run their normally silver halo painted bright red, referencing his trademark red cap that he wore since his fiery, death-defying accident at Nurburgring in 1976.
🔴 Danke Niki pic.twitter.com/h28XF31fEu
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) May 24, 2019