Bye Niki': Austria says farewell to F1 icon Lauda

Thousands thronged Vienna's landmark cathedral Wednesday to mourn Formula One legend and Austrian national hero Niki Lauda at a ceremony to be attended by a host of F1 stars including world champion Lewis Hamilton.

The casket arrived at St. Stephen's Cathedral in the city's historic centre with a police motorcade. Pallbearers, followed by Lauda's family, carried the coffin inside as bells rang out and thousands gathered in pouring rain outside.

The three-time F1 world champion, who came back from a horrific crash and founded several airlines, died on May 20 at the age of 70.

"The whole world says today: Bye, Niki!" tabloid Oesterreich said on its front page. Lauda's widow Birgit along with two of his sons put his helmet on top of the brown casket, which stood next to flower wreaths and a portrait of the Austrian sporting his signature cap hiding scars from the 1976 crash.

Mourners then slowly filed past to bid a final farewell, taking photos and laying flowers, with the queue stretching well out of the cathedral into nearby streets. - 'An example for Austria' - ============================
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