Niki Lauda's near fatal crash

During the first lap of the 1976 German Grand Prix, Niki Lauda's Ferrari 312B2 spun and hit an embankment off the side of the track. His helmet became dislodged form the impact, and the car fuel tank ruptured. The car was then hit by another, and it caught fire. Niki Lauda escaped with his life thanks to the combined actions of fellow drivers Arturo Merzario, Guy Edwards, Brett Lunger and Harald Ertl rather than by the ill-equipped track marshals. At the time, safety vehicles took about 10 minutes to reach the driver, since the accident occurred several miles along the circuit.

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  Sports

[Randy Stewart]

Rush

[Mrkitketi]

F1 car's average speed is around 200kph on this speed i am sure you cant see anything around. drivers(niki lauda) thought that Purley was Williamson and thats why they did not stop. come on man nobody wants to race when somebody is dying on track. R.I.P Williamson and Purley

[StatikTronik]

title says : " Niki Lauda's NEAR fatal crash "

[StarFoxAutobot]

1:41 Was he bleeding?

[Kas A]

this is not fatatl crash

[fabio pedrola]

you right gnubbolo,only with turbo cars during 80's f1 engine managed to have 600-700 hp during race and 1200-1400 in qualifying.in 1978 average engine power was 450-500 hp.

[Tscheriff]

drivers back than mostly didnt buckle up because of their fear of burning to death in the car.

[crv26]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS­SSSSS

[JOSE EDUARDO MACHADO]

The best race pilot ever...

[Ixdriftz]

Ok thank you :)

[Justine Pereira]

Je t ygtghuggyyvy

[Cliff Field]

I think your question is fair enough - it kind of doesn't look too bad... But there are numerous reasons why it was a life-or-death situation (when it doesn't really look it when you see the footage). Lauda actually inhaled flames during the accident (his helmet had come off in the initial impact). Secondly, his body was likely very heavily functioning on adrenalin at the time those shots were taken - but he deteriorated quickly not long after due to shock - and trauma from the burns.