Mercedes wish Lauda a "safe and speedy recovery"

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has wished Niki Lauda a safe and speedy recovery after the three-time world champion underwent a lung transplant. Lauda, who works as a non-executive chairman at Mercedes, has been absent from the paddock in recent races.

A statement from the Vienna General Hospital confirmed that the Austrian had the operation on Thursday, before a source stated that Lauda was in an artificial coma on Friday - a normal part of the procedure.

And now Wolff has sent his best wishes to his colleague: “The world knows Niki as an F1 legend with incredible power and resilience. For all of us at Mercedes he is our chairman, our mentor and our friend.

"We have missed him by our side in Hockenheim and Hungary and can’t wait to have him back with us on the grand prix tracks of this world. The recovery he now faces is not a race. But knowing Niki, I’m sure he will soon be telling every nurse and doctor that he has had enough of the hospital."