Niki Lauda Leaves Position At Air Berlin To Focus On Mercedes F1 Team

Air Berlin said that retired triple F1 champion NIKI LAUDA has left its board "so he can devote more time to his new role with LEWIS HAMILTON's Mercedes F1 team," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. Austrian Lauda "was named as non-exec chairman of the British-based team's board when '08 champion Hamilton was signed from McLaren" in September. Lauda, 63 and a former Jaguar team principal, "is expected to play a link role" between the team and the Stuttgart, Germany-based car manufacturer (REUTERS, 1/3). N-TV reported Lauda "will be succeeded by dissolved British airline bmi CEO AUSTIN REID." Air Berlin is Germany's second largest airline, however, it "has been operating in the loss column for years." After implementing a tight policy of saving, CEO HARTMUT MEHDORN has announced a profit for '12" (N-TV, 1/3).