1976 Formula One Season Free May 2026

On the second lap, in a fast, sweeping left-hand kink called Bergwerk, Lauda’s Ferrari suddenly veered right, slammed into an earth bank, and burst into flames. The impact had ruptured the fuel tank. As the car ricocheted back onto the track, Arturo Merzario, Brett Lunger, and Harald Ertl arrived at full speed. Unable to avoid the inferno, they crashed into the wreck. Lauda was trapped inside, his helmet dislodged by the impact. For nearly a minute, he lay in the burning cockpit, inhaling flaming fuel and toxic fumes. He suffered third-degree burns to his face and head, severe lung damage from the hot gases, and near-fatal poisoning of his blood.

The 1976 season ended with James Hunt as World Champion, celebrating with champagne and rock-star abandon. But history has been kinder to Niki Lauda. While Hunt’s championship was brilliant, it was Lauda’s survival and return that defined the year. Hunt would win only three more races in his career before retiring in 1979; Lauda would go on to win two more titles (1977, 1984), becoming a titan of the sport. 1976 formula one season

Miraculously, he was pulled from the wreckage by fellow drivers Merzario, Lunger, and Guy Edwards. Lauda was given the last rites in the hospital. Hunt, who had won the chaotic, rain-shortened race, was visibly shaken. The championship, he said, no longer mattered. On the second lap, in a fast, sweeping