Mathias Lauda steers father's 1975 title-winning Ferrari 312T at Red Bull Ring

Mathias Lauda completed a demonstration run in the Ferrari 312T at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday, piloting the very car his late father Niki Lauda drove to the 1975 Formula 1 world championship. The appearance came as part of the annual Legends Parade at the Spielberg circuit ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.

The 45-year-old, an experienced GT and endurance racer who previously competed as a factory Aston Martin driver in the World Endurance Championship and in the DTM, guided the historic number 12 chassis around the 4.319km track in tribute to his father’s maiden F1 title campaign.

Designed by Ferrari’s legendary technical director Mauro Forghieri, the 312T was introduced at the third round of the 1975 season in South Africa. Powered by a 3-litre naturally aspirated flat-12 engine producing roughly 500 horsepower, the car ended a decade-long championship drought for the Maranello outfit.

The 312T was joined on track by an impressive collection of historic machinery, including the 1976 Lotus 77, the six-wheeled 1976 and 1977 Tyrrell P34 and P34B, the fan-car 1978 Brabham BT46B, the 1981 Lotus 88, the 1983 Brabham BT52 and BT52B, the 2002 Ferrari F2002, and the 2010 Red Bull RB6. Fellow parade participants included Jan Lammers, Pier Luigi Martini, Paolo Barilla, Jean Alesi, Karl Wendlinger, Christian Danner, Mark Webber, Rubens Barrichello, and David Coulthard.

Mathias Lauda had already been visible at the Austrian Grand Prix weekend as a guest of the Mercedes F1 team before taking to the track in the family’s most celebrated piece of motorsport history.

Later on Sunday, George Russell converted pole position into his second race win of the season, with Max Verstappen and championship leader Kimi Antonelli completing the podium.