5 F1 drivers who got injured mid-season feat. Daniel Ricciardo and late Ferrari legend

F1 drivers are high-performing, talented athletes who drive some of the fastest machines at eye-watering speeds. They constantly keep their bodies in shape to perform at their highest levels. However, there is always a chance for them to get injured due to various kinds of accidents while racing. While some mid-season injuries are cured over a week, just in time for the next race, other injuries can take months to recover from.

Here are five drivers who were injured severely in the middle of an F1 season.

---

List of five drivers who got injured in the middle of an F1 season

#1 Jim Clark - 1966

After winning two of his F1 world championships in 1963 and 1965, Jim Clark had an unexpected accident during the 1966 F1 French GP. In 1966, the defending world champion struggled to keep up with other top drivers like Jack Brabham, John Surtees, etc.

In the French GP, he qualified for P13 but was later hit by a bird in the eye during a practice session before the race. Due to this unforeseen injury, the two-time world champion couldn't start in the Grand Prix.

The French GP proved to be a poor outing for Team Lotus as Clark's teammate, Pedro Rodriguez, had to retire from the race due to an oil leak.

---

#2 Graham Hill - 1969

Graham Hill had a near-fatal accident at the 1969 F1 US GP at Watkins Glen racing track. The two-time world champion broke both his legs in a severe accident and had to retire from the rest of the season. Though he returned to the grid in 1970 and raced till 1975, Hill was no longer the frontrunner after his accident.

During the race, Hill stalled and skidded off the track on Lap 88 due to an oil patch. He unbuckled his seatbelt, exited the vehicle, and gave it a push-start, but he was unable to tighten his belt by himself.

It was later learned that his car had a puncture. While returning to the pits, the tire exploded entirely at a high-speed section of the track. This sent the Lotus cartwheeling into an embankment. Since his seatbelt was unfastened, he got thrown out of the car and broke both his legs.

---

#3 Niki Lauda

Niki Lauda was involved in one of the most horrific accidents during the 1976 F1 German GP. Ironically, Lauda tried to boycott the race before the weekend by raising concerns over the lack of security and safety measures around the 23 km circuit. The race went on as most drivers voted against the boycott.

Lauda was involved in an accident on August 1, 1976, during the second lap of the German GP. His Ferrari went off the track, struck an embankment, and caught fire instantly. Before being rescued, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage, where he burned his hands and head severely and breathed in hot, poisonous fumes that damaged his lungs and blood.

The infamous accident triggered a turning point in F1's safety rules as the senior management of the sport took drastic measures to ensure driver safety. Despite his near-death accident, Lauda miraculously recovered just enough to be able to get back into his Ferrari's cockpit six weeks later and race at the Italian GP.

---

#4 Felipe Massa

Felipe Massa also suffered a major mid-season injury in 2009 that forced him to retire from the rest of the season. At the 2009 F1 Hungarian GP qualifying session, the Brazilian was seriously injured by a suspension spring that had fallen off Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP car. On-board footage showed debris striking his helmet, one inch above the left eye.

He was rendered unconscious by the collision, and his vehicle ended up going onto the grass inside turn four. It was eventually discovered that he had a concussion, a cut to his head, and fractured skull bones. He was kept under intensive care for several days.

After being forced to miss the remainder of the 2009 season, he made a comeback in 2010.

---

#5 Daniel Ricciardo

Most recently, it was Daniel Ricciardo who had a major crash in the 2023 F1 Dutch GP, forcing him to skip five races in the season after he replaced an ailing Nyck de Vries in AlphaTauri (currently RB).

During FP2 at Zandvoort, Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo crashed just seconds apart at Turn 3, causing the session to be red-flagged. Ricciardo's left hand suffered a shattered metacarpal bone as a result of the collision.

As a result, the Honey Badger was replaced for the remainder of the weekend by Liam Lawson, the reserve driver for Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri. Lawson drove the next four races for AlphaTauri while Ricciardo recovered. He eventually returned to the grid in the US GP.