Lewis Hamilton has revealed that Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda wasn't at all happy that the team failed to win last week's United States Grand Prix.
“He was upset we didn’t win the last race," said Hamilton in Mexico this week. "He says he wants us to win here!"
Hamilton wasn't able to grasp the opportunity to close out his fifth world championship in Austin. He put it down to set-up issues on the W09 following a last minute water pump change before the race.
But the news that Lauda was getting back to his feisty self has been a definite boost for Hamilton and the whole Mercedes team.
“He’s obviously very much in touch with everyone here at the team. He’s such a racer, he loves a car,” Hamilton said. “He’s in good spirits.
“He’s still very much the same character, very funny on the phone, always cracking jokes."
Lauda was finally released from hospital in Vienna on Wednesday, two and a half months after undergoing a life-saving lung transplant operation. The 69-year-old now faces a period of rehabilitation to get him back to full health.
“It’s great news about Niki,” Hamilton told and media on Thursday. “Now he’s been released from hospital into intensive rehab, so now he’s going to be working hard to regain his strength."
Hamilton's delight at Lauda's improving condition was shared by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.
"Like everyone at Mercedes, I'm more than happy that Lauda has been able to take the next step as he has left the hospital," Wolff told Bild this week.
"Niki is a real fighter!" he said, before adding it will be a while before Lauda will be able to return to the F1 paddock.
"It's a very heavy procedure which he has undergone," he pointed out. "It will take some time for him to fully recover and become his old self.
"We're looking forward to his return, in any case."
The medical staff who have been treating Lauda hinted this week that Lauda could be back even sooner than anyone was expecting - possibly in time for the 2018 season finale.
"That would be great of course," Lauda's chief doctor professor Walter Klepetko sais when asked about the possibility Lauda would be in Abu Dhabi next month.
"The most important thing is that the rest of his recovery is very good," he continued. "Basically the goal is that he gets back to the life he was used to.
"I don't want to guess, I'm not a clairvoyant," he cautioned. ""The engine is humming again, but now we have to work a little bit on the chassis."
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