A story of fire and ice: Niki Lauda, Formula One legend

On fire in a burning cockpit: Formula One legend Niki Lauda, who died late on Monday at the age of 70, will forever be known for his 1976 accident.

But even the horrific crash could not shake the 1975 world champion's icy determination -- he staged a near-miraculous comeback to win two more titles and went on to become a successful entrepreneur, founding his own airlines.

Lauda had taken his maiden Formula One world championship for Ferrari the previous year and was leading the standings when on August 1, 1976, his car plunged off the track for never-explained reasons and burst into flames on the notorious 22.8-kilometre (14-mile) long Nuerburgring in Germany.

He was trapped in the burning vehicle for almost a minute before being pulled out by other drivers who stopped to rescue him, risking their lives as their own fireproof racing suits were scorched by the intense heat.

Images of the accident went around the world. Just days earlier, Lauda had said in an interview: "On the Nuerburgring, if your car has a problem, you're 100 percent dead."
- Fighting spirit -
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- Courting controversy -
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