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“Niki wasn’t faster than me”

02. May 2023 
by Ziv Knoll
2439 views

For the 1974 Formula One season, Enzo Ferrari signed popular Swiss Clay Regazzoni, who had been at the Scuderia from 1970 to 1972, and young Austrian Niki Lauda, who had shown great potential at BRM, the previous season.

It was a turn-around year for Ferrari. Mauro Forghieri was back leading the design department, and his 312B3-74, was competitive. Clay Regazzoni remembered: “In 1974, Niki wasn’t faster than me. The fact is that I went to Maranello, tested and came back home. I had my own life. He stayed there, ate on the track, slept in Modena. With Luca (di Montezemolo), they became a stainless couple. By the time I realised it, it was already too late.”

Regazzoni continued: “But that first championship together at Ferrari in 1974, it was me who played it all the way, not Niki who had more technical problems during the summer, but also made a few mistakes.”

Picture below: Clay Regazzoni scores a dominant win at the old Nürburgring on 3 August 1974, a win that puts him back in the mix for the drivers’ title. He fought hard all season, and only lost out in the last race to Emerson Fittipaldi, in his McLaren.

 

Source: DR

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