Formula One lore that motivates me
If Niki Lauda can drive an F1 car with third-degree burns, I can get through dreadful Mondays
When Niki Lauda got into his Formula One (F1) car on August 1, 1976, he knew his survival rate wasn’t at 100 percent.
The previous decade had claimed the lives of 14 F1 drivers like him. And driving at the deadly Old Nürburgring track in Germany (also known as Green Hell) was anything but safe.
Just days earlier, Lauda had said in an interview: “On the Nürburgring, if your car has a problem, you're 100 percent dead.”
And as is the twisted nature of fate, the man almost fulfilled his prophecy that day.
A suspected suspension failure plunged his car off the track, immediately combusting it.
Lauda was trapped in the burning vehicle for almost a minute before being pulled out by fellow racers Brett Lunger, Arturo Merzario, Guy Edwards, and Harald Ertl, along with some brave marshals who stopped to rescue him.
He suffered first-to-third degree burns over his face and hands. Having inhaled flames and toxic extinguisher powder, his lungs were severely damaged. He was given the last rites.
But hope has a funny way of ensuring that the race isn’t over until you’re dead and buried.
Less than two months after knocking on death’s door, Lauda participated in the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, finishing fourth and emerging out of the cockpit in blood-soaked bandages from his unhealed scalp.
Missing only two races that season, Lauda topped the championship board until James Hunt’s victory at the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix.
But in true Niki Lauda fashion, he fought back and won the world championship the following year and once again in 1984, cementing his status as one of the greatest in the sport.
His story was immortalized in the 2013 movie Rush, and that was my introduction to the man and the sport.
I spent the next few months digging into F1’s history, trying to find similar stories. And as expected, I found more than I could’ve asked for.
Turns out, 40 men driving around in circles can be inspiring after all. Here are some of my favourite stories.
Where there is a will, there is a way: Jack Brabham’s maiden title
There is a reason why drivers like Lauda have hastily returned from injuries to compete in races.
Winning an F1 championship is hard. Especially in the 50s, when the mortality rate was high, and funds were low. Even if you managed to survive a race, there was still a risk of missing out on the next one if your team shut down.
So, leading a championship meant you stopped at nothing until you secured it.
This is most evident in Jack Brabham’s maiden title-winning race.
It was the 1959 United States Grand Prix.
Brabham, still relatively new to F1, was leading the championship fight.
After 41 laps, with just half a kilometre left to cross the finishing line, his car ran out of fuel.
For most, this would mean a withdrawal from the race. But Brabham refused to give up.
The man summoned all the strength left in his body to push his car over the finish line, making him the only man in history to win a Formula One world championship title on foot.
Brabham went on to win another title the following year.
He clinched his third title in 1966, this time driving a car of his own design and creation, a unique feat that earned him another spot in F1 history.
Another great comeback from injury: Juan Manuel Fangio’s recovery at 41
In 1952, a day before a pre-season non-championship event at Monza (Italy), Juan Manuel Fangio competed in a road race in Northern Ireland.
This meant that he had to drive all night to reach Monza in time for his race. Not having slept for 48 hours and being riddled with fatigue, it's safe to say that he was in bad shape.
Despite performing 15 overtakes within the first two laps, his sleeplessness took over and resulted in a loss of control that saw his car somersaulting off the track.
This left Fangio with a broken neck and back, resulting in the end of his 1952 season run.
For many, this incident would have marked the end of their career. And it should have for Fangio too. The man was 41 years old after all (that’s ancient in F1 terms. Yes, even for the 50s).
But Fangio persisted. He spent the year recovering at home, his mother’s cooking helping him rebuild his body. And in 1953, the man returned to F1 racing, finishing second in the championship.
1954 onwards there was no stopping him.
Despite never recovering full mobility in his upper body, the ‘Old Man’ went on to win four straight championships from 1954 to 1957, before retiring at the end of 1958.
Fun fact: Ahead of the Cuban Grand Prix in 1958, Fangio was kidnapped at gunpoint by a group of Fidel Castro’s rebels intending to embarrass dictator Fulgencio Batista. They introduced him to their loved ones, dined with and made him sign autographs before releasing him to the Argentinian embassy. Their tactic probably worked since Batista fled the country less than a year later?
Sometimes, the stars align, and the impossible happens. You just need to be prepared: Sebastian Vettel’s underdog first win
To know me is to know that I’d never write about F1 without mentioning Sebastian Vettel.
The year was 2008. Sebastian Vettel had already made waves in the previous year by becoming the then-youngest driver to score a point.
With the goal of honing him to eventually become their top driver, he was signed to drive for Red Bull’s junior team, Toro Rosso.
Given his limited experience, the speed of his car, and the small size of the team (they were the smallest team that season), it would have been ridiculous to expect a win. Especially when he was competing against some of the sport’s finest drivers, which included six current and future F1 world champions.
But fate intervened, the stars aligned, and the heavens poured forth their blessings in the form of heavy showers at Monza.
Rainy weather meant that racing conditions were equalized across the grid. And Vettel was well prepared.
Just weeks before the race, he insisted on practicing in wet conditions on slicks (dry weather tyres) in preparation for the Belgian Grand Prix, despite being told not to.
“They said, 'No, you are mad!' and I said, 'I need some practice if it rains in Spa,’” recalled Vettel, according to Motorsport.
The preparation came in handy sooner than expected.
Driving with a technical precision that was second to none, 21-year-old Sebastian Vettel won the Italian Grand Prix, becoming F1’s youngest race winner and securing a historic first win for Toro Rosso and their parent team, Red Bull.
Vettel went on to become F1’s youngest world champion in 2010, winning four consecutive titles to cement his place in history as one of the greats.
PS: His championship-winning races in Brazil in 2012 and Abu Dhabi in 2010 are equally impressive and inspiring.
No quote, just Pastor Maldonado winning
Where do I even begin with this one?
Pastor Maldonado, the master of crashes.
Until the first few races of 2012, the only conceivable scenario in which he could win a race was if the entire grid crashed out and he was the sole remaining racer (without considering the possibility of him crashing on his own before reaching the chequered flag).
Or at least that’s what fans worldwide thought until the Spanish Grand Prix.
That weekend was the first (and last) time fans witnessed Maldonado’s racing genius.
For once, everything was right. His pace was impeccable. The car perfectly suited track conditions.
Going second fastest in the qualifying round, the man was set to begin the race in pole position (Lewis Hamilton’s penalty pushed him up a place).
But of course, it’s one thing to pull a fast lap and do well in qualification, and another to actually maintain pace and complete a race without crashing.
And with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso starting right behind him, fans were convinced Maldonado would lose his lead in no time. Which he, in fact, did do, right into the first corner of the race.
But great strategy, timing, and skills put Maldonado back into the lead.
For the last 30-odd laps, Maldonado drove the drive of his life and won the Spanish Grand Prix on pure merit, shocking fans all around the world.
There was never a tale so shocking in F1, and never to be.
For those who made it until the end of the article, I hope it’s been inspiring for you. If there are any other moments in F1 or other sports that inspire you, I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
And yes, I will use this inspiration to be more consistent with my articles, for as you can tell, procrastination has been getting the best of me.
These are incredible stories! Now my Monday feels pretty low-stakes lol
Keep writing!❤️