The ‘phenomenal’ turning point in Niki Lauda’s F1 career that occurred at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

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Niki Lauda’s reputation in Formula 1 was that of a direct and determined individual who wanted to see the chequered flag first, no matter the cost.

The three-time world champion is one of the most well-respected figures in the history of motorsport, having endured some of the most difficult trials and tribulations that have ever been presented to a driver in Formula 1.

Even in retirement, Lauda was a force to be reckoned with. The final role he held within F1 was as the non-executive chairman of Mercedes, where Toto Wolff benefited from Lauda’s tenacity to build a team that showcased unprecedented dominance in the sport.

His character was derived from a man who simply wanted to be the best driver on the grid, and for a long while, he was.

However, as told by his former teammate at McLaren, John Watson, he wasn’t always favoured in every garage he stepped into.

READ MORE: Ferrari must listen to what Lewis Hamilton told Niki Lauda during his toughest season at McLaren

John Watson recalls what Ron Dennis told Niki Lauda before the 1982 Las Vegas Grand Prix

The 1982 F1 season saw Lauda return to the grid after announcing his retirement three years earlier.

Having seen what Lauda was capable of as an already well-established two-time world champion in the sport, McLaren boss Ron Dennis welcomed the Austrian star to the Woking-based outfit with open arms.

Lauda immediately picked up where he left off, securing a fourth-place finish in his return to action before claiming his first win of the new stint two races later in Long Beach, California.

Despite the fact that he hadn’t lost any of his superior racing skills, the reliability of McLaren’s MP4B left a lot to be desired, and he fell out of championship contention as the circus reached its final round of the season in Las Vegas.

On the other hand, Watson, who considered Lauda his greatest rival, needed to outscore the championship-leading Keke Rosberg by nine points to clinch a maiden title through F1’s countback rule.

The British driver, now 79 years old, previously recalled a meeting between Dennis and Lauda ahead of the race weekend in Las Vegas, which left the Austrian with a bitter taste in his mouth.

He said, via Motorsport Magazine, “On the night before the Vegas race, Ron Dennis had a word with Niki and said, ‘Listen, John can win the championship. If he’s behind you and is quicker, will you let him go?’

“That was the first time Niki realised he was in a team he wasn’t able to control, as he had at Ferrari and Brabham. And at that point, I think he kind of checked out, went through the motions.”

READ MORE: Adrian Newey recalls how he once made Ron Dennis ‘incandescent with rage’ while working for McLaren

John Watson also shared the ‘values and qualities’ of Niki Lauda that made him so successful in F1

Watson ended up losing out on the 1982 title to Rosberg by just five points, with his second-place finish at the car park of Caesar’s Palace proving to be an insufficient result in his attempts to dethrone the Finnish driver.

When talking about the biggest disappointments in his F1 career, Watson said, “1982 is one of them. Some of it was down to me, some down to the team and the circumstances in the team.

“Niki [Lauda] had come in out of retirement at the start of the year, and there was a little bit of a love affair, as you can imagine.

“What I regret is not having that amazing quality Niki had in terms of self-belief and the ability to convey that. He was very succinct in everything he did. He was a smart operator.”

Lauda’s quick thinking was an integral part of Lewis Hamilton signing for Mercedes midway through the 2012 season.

Having just taken up his role at the German constructor, Lauda turned up at the then-McLaren driver’s hotel room during the race weekend of the Singapore Grand Prix at midnight to convince him about the project that the Silver Arrows were building at the time. The rest is history.

Watson ended by further praising his former rival, saying, “If I’d had those values and qualities that Niki had, maybe I’d have achieved some of what he had, but maybe not all of it. Still, if I’d had one world championship, it would have been phenomenal.”