F1 hero Niki Lauda to be buried in iconic Ferrari racing suit after special mass attended by Lewis Hamilton and Bernie Ecclestone

F1 FANS will have chance to say goodbye to Niki Lauda after his body is placed in Vienna’s cathedral before he is buried in a Ferrari racing suit.

The racing hero and will be buried in Doebling near to his late mother, borough, with full state honours after a special mass attended by Lewis Hamilton and Bernie Ecclestone.

Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff will also attend the goodbye service.

From 8am tomorrow supporters of Lauda will be able to pay their own respects while his body lays in state in a coffin decorated with a laurel wreath put out in the centre of the church.

Lauda’s widow Birgit will put his racing helmet on top of the coffin before people will have the opportunity to walk by the three-time F1 championship winner.

The Cathedral’s priest Tom Faber will start with a requiem to commemorate Lauda at 1pm before the late star’s children hold an intercession for their deceased father in the church.

Van der Bellen will also hold a eulogy in the church for the man who was considered to be one of the greatest Austrian sportsmen and public characters who ever lived.

Lauda’s family have decided not to broadcast the event on live TV as they hope to keep it relatively private.

There are 350 places reserved for invited guests at the front of the church, so those who want to witness the ceremony should arrive early to snag the other places in the back.

At 2pm, Lauda’s coffin will be carried out of the Cathedral by racing drivers before being driven to his final resting place.

Lauda died last week in his sleep in the University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, where he underwent dialysis treatment for kidney problems following a prolonged period of ill health.

Following Lauda’s infamous crash during the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring where he suffered severe burns, damaged his lungs and escaped death by a whisker, he was frequently hospitalised.

He received kidney transplants in 1976 and 2005 (from his brother Florian and second wife Birgit as donors respectively) as well as a lung transplant last year.

With his first wife Marlene Knaus, who Lauda married in 1976 and divorced in 1991, he had two sons named Mathias and Lukas, as well as an illegitimate son called Christopher.

The legend’s estimated net worth is £220.7m but it has not yet been confirmed how that will be divided among his relatives.