Niki Lauda has targeted a F1 return for the season finale in Abu Dhabi later this month.
That is the news from the beleaguered F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman’s friend Bernie Ecclestone.
Ecclestone, the former F1 supremo, says 69-year-old Lauda telephoned him after leaving hospital following a lung transplant.
"He is doing well in the circumstances," the 88-year-old told the Swiss newspaper Blick.
"He said he feels much better and just has to take a lot of pills and be disciplined."
And Ecclestone said Lauda, who is now in rehabilitation, is targeting a return to the paddock for Abu Dhabi.
"His secret plan is to be back in Abu Dhabi," said the Briton.
"It’s incredible what Niki has had to go through. He does not deserve it."
Another of Lauda’s best F1 friends, Dr Helmut Marko, said he hopes Ecclestone’s news that the Austrian could be back in Abu Dhabi is right.
"I would never have imagined it," he told Bild newspaper.
"He always sets himself a goal in his head and goes about achieving it," Marko said. "That’s typical Niki Lauda."