Motorsport · 1976 · Nürburgring, West Germany
Lauda's Forty-Two-Day Return
Given last rites after a fiery crash left him with severe burns and damaged lungs, Niki Lauda is back on the grid just six weeks later, racing with his wounds still raw.
42
Days out after crash
4th, Italian GP
Comeback result
2nd (by 1 point)
Championship finish, 1976
Niki Lauda's Ferrari crashed and burst into flames on the Nürburgring's notoriously dangerous Nordschleife circuit during the 1976 German Grand Prix. He was trapped in the burning car for almost a minute before other drivers pulled him free, suffering severe burns to his face and head and inhaling toxic fumes that damaged his lungs and blood. A priest administered last rites in hospital as his condition was considered critical.
Six weeks later, on 12 September 1976, Lauda returned to the grid at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, his bandages still fresh, his burns unhealed, blood visibly seeping through the dressings beneath a specially adapted helmet. He finished fourth, scoring points and keeping his championship hopes alive against title rival James Hunt.
The comeback is regarded as one of the most extraordinary in sports history, a driver returning to one of the most dangerous forms of racing in the world within weeks of being read his last rites. Lauda would go on to lose that year's title to Hunt by a single point at the season finale in Japan, before winning two more championships later in his career.
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