Editing Niki Lauda (section)

===1976 Nürburgring crash===
A week before the [[1976 German Grand Prix]] at the [[Nürburgring]], even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the {{convert|23|km|adj=on}} circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit, including lack of fire marshals, fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles.  Formula One was quite dangerous at the time (three of the drivers that day later died in Formula One incidents: [[Tom Pryce]] in 1977; [[Ronnie Peterson]] in 1978; and [[Patrick Depailler]] in 1980), but a majority of the drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead.

[[File:Lauda accidente2.jpg|thumb|right|Lauda's car on fire]]

On 1 August 1976, during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames, and made contact with [[Brett Lunger]]'s [[Surtees Racing Organisation|Surtees]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers [[Arturo Merzario]], Lunger, [[Guy Edwards]], and [[Harald Ertl]] arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before Merzario was able to pull him from his car, Lauda suffered severe burns to his head and hands and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood.{{sfn|Rubython|2011|p={{page needed|date=December 2024}}}} In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Lauda said:

{{blockquote|There were basically two or three drivers trying to get me out of the car, but one was Arturo Merzario, the Italian guy, who also had to stop there at the scene, because I blocked the road; and he really came into the car himself, and uh, triggered my, my seatbelt loose, and then pulled me out. It was unbelievable, how he could do that, and I met him afterwards, and I said, 'How could you do it?!'.  He said, 'Honestly, I do not know, but to open your seatbelt was so difficult, because you were pushing so hard against it, and when it was open, I got you out of the car like a feather...'.|"I Was There – May 21, 2019"; "Niki Lauda speaks in 2015"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4mbRKsf813B0CCRMm2Fz1k/i-was-there-niki-lauda-grand-prix-crash-1976|title=BBC Radio 5 live – In Short – 'I was there': Niki Lauda Grand Prix crash, 1976|publisher=BBC|access-date=28 November 2019|archive-date=28 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128023133/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4mbRKsf813B0CCRMm2Fz1k/i-was-there-niki-lauda-grand-prix-crash-1976|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, it did not fit him properly; the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire.{{sfn|Rubython|2011|p=163}} Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma.{{sfn|Lang|1981|p=137}} While in the hospital, he was given the [[last rites]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=31 July 2015 |title=Lauda 'upset' with Priest for giving him last rites |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02ygmxx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402031624/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02ygmxx |archive-date=2 April 2023 |access-date=2 April 2023 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows, and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and restoring their functionality. After the accident he always wore a cap to cover the scars on his head. He arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising.

With Lauda out of the contest, [[Carlos Reutemann]] was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the [[1976 Austrian Grand Prix|Austrian Grand Prix]] in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards [[McLaren]] driver [[James Hunt]] at the Spanish and British Grands Prix.