50 years of AUTOhebdo – 50 years of Formula 1 (part 1)

It would take a film to narrate the 1976 season of Formula 1It's fitting, then, that director Ron Howard paid him a vibrant tribute with his feature film "Rush" in 2013. It's difficult to choose a more unforgettable race from that season. Niki Lauda's horrific first-lap crash in Germany, where he nearly perished in the flames of his car, is a prime example. Classic Ferrari for sale The dislocated helmet, before being extricated by his peers Arturo Merzario, Harald Ertl, Brett Lunger, and Guy Edwards, could have been included, if only because it definitively places the Nordschleife (the Nürburgring's north loop) on the list of undesirable circuits in F1. The lesson in courage from this same Lauda, ​​who donned his helmet again five weeks later at Monza to finish 4th in front of the Scuderia Ferrari fans, despite serious facial injuries and lung damage, is unforgettable. But the peak of intensity was reached in the mist of Mount Fuji during the final race. The Austrian Lauda maintained a three-point lead over the comet James Hunt, an English driving aesthete, a notorious partygoer but fearless behind the wheel of his McLarenThe weather conditions were disastrous for this first-ever Japanese Grand Prix in Formula 1. After much hesitation, the start was finally given several hours late. Hunt got off to a superb start and took the lead. Behind him, the spray of water paralyzed Lauda, ​​who lost his grip on the track. Was he still affected by his accident at the Nürburgring? He wasn't in the right frame of mind, but how could anyone blame him after having been so close to death? At the end of the second lap, the Ferrari veered towards the pits and parked there. Deliberately and for good. "I 'I started the race with victory in mind. But the track was really not in condition for racing. I'm going home."A life is worth more than a title," he declared. Engineer Mauro Forghieri suggested disguising this withdrawal as a technical problem, but Lauda assumed