Editing Niki Lauda (section)

===Return to racing===
Lauda missed only two races, appearing at the Monza press conference six weeks after the accident with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the {{F1GP|1976|Italian}}, whilst being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. Formula One journalist [[Nigel Roebuck]] recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted crash helmet so as not to be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the [[1976 Canadian Grand Prix|Canadian]] and [[1976 United States Grand Prix|United States]] Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the [[1976 Japanese Grand Prix|Japanese Grand Prix]].

Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain, and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tyres blistered and a pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point.

Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult [[1977 Formula One season|1977 season]]; he won the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team."{{sfn|Rubython|2011|p=187}} Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the [[1977 United States Grand Prix|United States Grand Prix]]  because of the team's decision to run the unknown [[Gilles Villeneuve]] in a third car at the [[1977 Canadian Grand Prix|Canadian Grand Prix]].