As a mood of quiet mourning settled over the Monaco paddock on Wednesday, Lewis Hamilton was said to be too raw even to speak about the passing of Niki Lauda, the man who had first brought him to Mercedes. The five-time world champion, having this week described Lauda as a “bright light in my life”, was scheduled to give a press conference reacting to the Austrian’s death, but ceded duties at the last minute to team-mate Valtteri Bottas. “Really shocking news,” said the Finn, echoing a sentiment felt throughout Formula One. “He meant a lot to me, and to every team member.”

Sebastian Vettel, over at Mercedes’ arch-rivals Ferrari, knew Lauda better than most. Even though “the man in the red hat”, as he was affectionately known, would sometimes take Vettel to task for outbursts of petulance – he once accused him of “screaming like a child” – such criticisms never bred any personal spite. Indeed, the German was so fond of Lauda as an F1 patriarch that when he heard last year of his double lung transplant operation, he sent a handwritten letter to express his wishes for a rapid recovery.

Lauda, for all that he could be a blunt and deadpan character, would reflect that he was deeply touched by the message. Vettel, still absorbing the loss of Lauda at the age of 70, took the moment to tell his side of the story.