Lauda widow:

“I regret that I have to fight for the compulsory portion”

Lauda widow Birgit in conversation with Conny Bischofberger(Bild: Reinhard Holl)

Following her victory in the probate proceedings for Niki Lauda's inheritance, his widow Birgit Lauda comments for the first time. She regrets that she had to fight for and claim her compulsory portion in court, she told the "Krone" newspaper in a major interview on the fifth anniversary of the three-time Formula 1 world champion's death.

Niki Lauda died in Zurich on May 20, 2019. After his death, a dispute broke out within the family over his million-dollar inheritance. Widow Birgit Lauda and her two children Max and Mia went to court to claim their compulsory portion - and were proved right.

Conny Bischofberger asked whether Niki would have wanted it that way. "Nobody wants that, not even the family. But as his wife, we were married for eleven years, I am entitled to a statutory compulsory portion. I regret that I have to fight for and claim this in court. When you have been married to a public figure like Niki Lauda, you have to put up with being dragged through the media as a "money-grabbing widow", explains Birgit Lauda, "to be honest, it doesn't leave you completely cold ..."

Regarding the rumor that she had given up money because she wanted to marry her partner Marcus Sieberer and move to Switzerland with their children, she says: "No, that rumor is not true." Whether she gets married or not is her private matter.

You can read the interview with Birgit Lauda in Saturday's edition of "Krone", the long version on Krone+ online.