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It is extremely hard to recover from any major injury, and even harder to recover and get back in an F1 car, and then go on to dominate a race. In the past, many racers have suffered injury setbacks but have bounced back and returned to the grid in a grand fashion. Racing in Formula 1 after an injury and performing well requires immense energy, grit, and talent, which some drivers have shown in motorsport history.
Here are three F1 drivers who dominated a race after recovering from injuries and other ailments.
#1 Gerhard Berger - 1997 F1 German Grand Prix
1997 was not the best year for Gerhard Berger. The Austrian lost his father in a light airplane accident and even underwent two sinusitis surgeries. Due to this, he had to sit out of three races held in Canada, France, and Great Britain.
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However, Gerhard Berger did not waste any time getting back in the groove after he returned to the grid in the 1997 F1 German GP. He immediately started performing exceptionally well in the Benetton and took his 12th career pole position around Hockenheim.
During the race, Berger was chased by Giancarlo Fisichella in his Jordan. Though Fisichella briefly overtook the Austrian, he suffered a puncture from debris from Rubens Barichello's blown engine. This enabled Gerhard Berger to retake the race's lead and win it.
This was Berger's last win since 1997 was his last year in Formula 1 and also Benetton's last win before they were bought by Renault.
#2 Michael Schumacher - 1999 F1 Malaysian Grand Prix
Michael Schumacher had an unfortunate accident during the 1999 F1 British GP. While the session was accidentally red-flagged due to Jacques Villeneuve and Alessandro Zanardi's stalled cars, Schumacher's Ferrari's brake failed, which caused him to go off-track at Stowe corner and crash hard into the wall. He broke his tibia and fibula bones on his right leg, forcing him to miss out on six races.
His seat was taken by Mika Salo, who could only bag one point-scoring finish in Italy by ending the race in third.
After six races, questions loomed over Schumacher's ability to return and dominate the sport. However, these questions were immediately put to rest when the German returned to the grid at the inaugural 1999 F1 Malaysian GP.
He bagged the pole position around the Sepang circuit and was +0.947 seconds ahead of his teammate Eddie Irvine, marking the greatest pole margin of his career.
During the race, Schumacher could have competed against Irvine for the win but gave his teammate the lead. He essentially acted as a second driver and helped Irvine win the race to help him win the driver's championship for Ferrari. The German eventually finished second but dominated the entire race weekend after his six-race recovery.
#1 Carlos Sainz - 2024 F1 Australian Grand Prix
Most recently, Carlos Sainz was the driver who dominated in a race after recovering from surgery. After the first practice session day at the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP, Ferrari officially announced that Sainz was suffering from appendicitis and would miss the rest of the race weekend at Jeddah.
The Spaniard was replaced by Ferrari junior and F2 driver Oliver Bearman. The youngster impressed the entire grid by qualifying in P11 and finishing the race in P7. While Bearman's performance raised questions about his future and whether teams could consider him as a candidate, Sainz returned to the grid in a sublime manner.
Recovering rather swiftly from his appendectomy and returning for the 2024 F1 Australian GP, Sainz instantly got in sync with the team and the car, dominating in one of the three practice sessions. He qualified second, only 0.270 seconds behind Max Verstappen.
During the race at Albert Park, Sainz overtook the defending world champion for the lead of the race. Soon enough, Verstappen retired from the race due to a fire inside his right rear tire. This drastically increased Sainz's chances to dominate and win the race. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, finished second, giving Ferrari their first 1-2 finish since the 2022 F1 Bahrain GP.
