Eight F1 Drivers Who Missed Races Due To Injuries

Posted on August 30, 2023 | by Charley Williams Daniel Ricciardo missed the Dutch GP after an accident in FP2 meant a trip to the hospital, with an x-ray confirming a break to his left hand. He was whisked off to Barcelona for surgery, and the team confirmed he would also be out for Monza. He isn’t the first driver to have sustained an injury mid-season, and we’re sure he won’t be the last! ???? But who else has missed a race or two mid-season because of an injury? We look back at just some F1 drivers who missed a few races and came back before the end of the season! MICHAEL SCHUMACHER In 1999 Michael Schumacher’s hopes for the title were soon lost when his car’s rear brakes failed on the first lap of the British GP and sent him into the barriers at Stowe. Telemetry at the time showed he was travelling at 307km/h, the high-speed crash resulted in a broken leg, which meant he’d miss six more races before returning for the final two of the season – the first of which he likely would have won had he not given way to his team-mate Eddie Irvine who picked up Ferrari’s title challenge after Schumacher’s injury. SERGIO PEREZ In his first F1 season with Sauber in 2011, Sergio Perez suffered from a concussion and a thigh sprain after a 175mph crash during the final two minutes of qualifying for the Monaco GP. The accident happened on the exit of the tunnel, hitting the barrier once before another side-on impact with another barrier. He was transferred to the hospital, and it was announced he wouldn’t participate in the race later that weekend. He returned at the following race in Canada but after participating in the first practice session he did not feel well enough and decided not to take any further part in the weekend. He returned a race later. NIKI LAUDA One of the greatest comeback stories in F1 history, Niki Lauda went into the 1976 season as a World Champion and was leading the season battle at the time of his German GP crash at the Nurburgring. His Ferrari burst into flames, and Niki was seriously injured, suffering from severe burns and inhaling toxic fumes. Six weeks later (though only two races were missed!), he shocked everyone by returning for the Italian GP. He lost that year’s title by just one point to James Hunt, but his legacy and comeback story is beyond inspirational. FERNANDO ALONSO It’s safe to say Fernando is quite accident-prone! In 2015, an accident during a pre-season test session in Barcelona gave him a concussion, and he wasn’t cleared to return for F1’s season opener at the Australian GP. He returned the following race. But a year later, injuries from a heavy crash with Esteban Gutierrez at the Australian GP caused him to miss the Bahrain GP on medical grounds. History was almost repeated in 2021 after he sustained an upper jaw fracture in a cycling collision with a car in Switzerland. Luckily, he had recovered by the time testing came around! GERHARD BERGER In 1989, Gerhard Berger had one of the most terrifying crashes in F1 history. He was lucky to escape his fiery crash during the San Marino GP at Imola, where he went straight on into the wall at Tamburello corner. The car spun multiple times before catching fire, and it took 16 seconds for a rescue crew to reach him and his Ferrari to put the fire out. Remarkably, he suffered only a few injuries, including burns to his hands and some broken ribs, and was able to make it back to the cockpit at the Mexican GP after missing just one race. JUAN PABLO MONTOYA After driving for Williams for four full seasons, Montoya switched to McLaren in 2005 – though he would end up missing two races in his first season with the team. After the Malaysian GP, Montoya fell over whilst playing tennis and injured his shoulder, which many reported as a minor hairline fracture. This led to him missing the Bahrain and San Marino GPs. Rumours at the time suggested that he may have fallen off his motorcycle – highly speculated to be against his contract. Of course, Montoya stands with his tennis story! PASCAL WEHRLEIN Pascal sustained a compression fracture of a neck vertebra in an accident during the Race Of Champions in January 2017 (before the F1 season began). He missed the first test of F1’s pre-season but travelled to the season-opening race in Australia but eventually withdrew from the weekend entirely after the free practice session. He then missed the Chinese GP before eventually returning to track a race later at the Bahrain GP. LANCE STROLL What started as just a wrist injury from a minor bicycle accident actually had surgery, and screws popped into his right wrist, broken bones in his left wrist and a broken toe. Lance Stroll was forced to miss pre-season testing at the start of the 2023 season, but after much speculation surrounding his ability to participate in the season opener in Bahrain, he did indeed make his return. There have been times when fans questioned whether he should have come back so quickly after seeing images of h