Niki Lauda Three-time Formula 1 world champion Niki Lauda has undergone a lung transplant. The 69-year-old had the surgery at Vienna General Hospital after initial reports claimed he'd be admitted for severe influenza. According to the hospital, the transplant was necessary 'because of a severe lung condition,' though it added in a brief statement that 'the transplant was carried out successfully.' The Austrian, who is now a non-executive director at Mercedes, missed the German and Hungarian Grands Prix as a result of the illness and resulting surgery. It's not the first time Lauda has gone under the knife, having had kidney transplants in 1997 and 2005.
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