Lauda was so badly injured in that accident at the 1976 German Grand Prix that a priest gave him the last rites as he lay in a coma.
Formula One legend, Niki Lauda, thinks it's going to be a tighter fight between them, because the latter wants to make sure now he can beat the Briton.
Britain's Lewis Hamilton became Formula One world champion for the second time after winning the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday.