Three-time Formula 1 world champion Niki Lauda has died peacefully in his sleep, aged 70, his family have confirmed.

“With deep sadness, we announce that our beloved Niki has peacefully passed away with his family,” a family spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday morning (Australian time).

“His unique achievements as an athlete and entrepreneur are, and will remain, unforgettable; his tireless zest for action, his straightforwardness and his courage remain.

“A role model and a benchmark for all of us, he was a loving and caring husband, father and grandfather away from the public, and he will be missed.”

The Mercedes non-executive chairman was reportedly transferred last year to a private clinic in Switzerland for dialysis treatment following a kidney problem.

He had previously had a double lung transplant to save his life. Doctors said he might have died within days or weeks without the operation.

Lauda was then hospitalised in January after suffering the flu at his family home in Ibiza. His immune system was weakened by his hospital stay, after reportedly contracting pneumonia.

Lauda is considered to be one of the best drivers in F1 history, and was a frequent figure in the paddock in recent years.

Lauda won the world drivers’ championship in 1975, 1977 and 1984.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgUKbLXk-hA&feature=youtu.be

He was probably most famous for returning to the sport after his head was badly burned in a fiery crash at the German Grand Prix in 1976 and his lungs were damaged by toxic smoke.

He was placed in a coma and lost most of his right ear, as well as his hair on the right side of his face, his eyebrows and eyelids.

Just weeks later, Lauda drove in the Italian Grand Prix, finishing fourth. 

-with agencies