Niki Lauda’s Courageous Clarity

Niki Lauda returned to Formula 1 just six weeks after his Ferrari exploded into flames at the

Nürburgring in 1976. His helmet had melted onto his face. Doctors performed last rites.

His lungs were scorched by toxic fumes. Yet forty-two days later, he was back in the

cockpit at Monza with fresh burns, bandages bleeding through his racing suit,

eyelids that could barely close. Every turn was torture. He finished fourth. By the final race,

Lauda was still in championship contention but made a decision that shocked everyone.

Rain poured down and he pulled into the pits, withdrawing from the race.

He lost the title by a single point. People expected him to be devastated, but Lauda simply