Motorsport is dangerous. It’s an exploit to be taken seriously, and nothing less than peak physical fitness is expected of drivers to reach peak performance.
But motorsport is also a highly competitive business, and the stakes are high. When money has been invested, taking the decision to prioritise health over competition isn’t easily made and history is littered with cases of drivers throwing themselves into battle while a long way from being fully fit.
As the world watches Lance Stroll’s efforts this weekend to see if the Canadian can exploit the potential of his Aston Martin package while recovering from his wrist injury, Autosport looks back at some noteworthy instances of racers pushing through the pain barrier – sometimes to their own detriment.
The greatest wet weather drive ever?
Jackie Stewart, Nurburgring 1968 – Kevin Turner
Stewart was magnificent on the Nordschleife in 1968, winning by over four minutes despite a broken scaphoid
Photo by: Motorsport Images
“If it had been a dry race, I wouldn’t have won. It might have been too much for me, but in the wet it didn’t really worry me at all.” Jackie Stewart’s modest account of the 1968 German Grand Prix underplays one of the great Formula 1 performances.
Three months before round eight of the championship, Stewart had broken the scaphoid on his right wrist in an F2 practice crash at Jarama. He missed the Spanish and Monaco GPs before finishing fourth on his return in Belgium.
Stewart then managed a victory in a wet Dutch GP and a third in France, so this entry could be about multiple races with injury, but it’s his win at the fearsome Nurburgring that stands out.
Having been treated by Muhammad Ali’s doctor and still wearing his plastic support, Stewart stormed from sixth into an 8.3-second lead on the first 14.2-mile lap. The Scot set a best time of 9m36s on a day no one else bettered 9m51s and his Tyrrell-run Matra took the flag more than four minutes clear of second-placed Graham Hill’s Lotus.
PLUS: Stewart’s 10 greatest F1 drives
Had it not been for the F2 crash and those missed rounds, Stewart would probably have been 1968 world champion but he’d once again shown all the naysayers to his safety campaign that he truly had inner steel.
The greatest comeback of all?
Niki Lauda, Monza 1976 – Kevin Turner
Lauda had to overcome very real mental fear, as well as excruciating pain, on his F1 return at Monza following his near-death Nurburgring crash
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