8 F1 careers ruined by injury

A relative unknown before BMW picked him up as a test driver and ultimately promoted him to a race seat later in the year, Robert Kubica quickly established himself as a potential champion-in-waiting during his time with the German manufacturer. Winning his first (and only) race in Canada in 2008, though Kubica’s career stuttered when the sudden exit of BMW forced him to the less competitive Renault team, his stock remained high amongst F1’s leading teams and it is understood Ferrari was preparing a bid for his services for 2012. However, his F1 career would come to an abrupt halt ahead of the 2011 season when he crashed heavily during a rallying event in Andorra. With the barrier penetrating the cockpit of his Skoda and partially severing his forearm, Kubica was trapped in the car for an hour before he could be extricated. Following lengthy operations, rehabilitation took several months – ruling him out of the 2011 season -, but it soon became clear the forces of an F1 car would forever be too much for Kubica to manage with his impaired arm and he was forced to call time on his F1 dreams. He returned to motorsport with a more professional stint in rallying, but he struggled to find consistency and has spent much of the 2016 season on the sidelines.

One of the most tragic tales to befall the sport, for many, the friendship-turned-rivalry between Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi robbed F1 of two of its most talented drivers. Firm friends initially during their time at Ferrari, Villeneuve died in a ferocious accident at the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix just two weeks on from declaring he would never speak to Pironi again after feeling the Frenchman cheated him by winning at Imola against the team's direction. Whilst Pironi was now heading towards the title, Villeneuve’s death nonetheless took its mental toll on him and many noted that his demeanour changed amidst an undercurrent of feeling the he bore responsibility for the tragic outcome. However, Pironi’s F1 story would also end in horrific circumstances when he crashed heavily during the German Grand Prix later that year. Pironi suffered severe leg injuries that would end his racing career, with Keke Rosberg surpassing him in his absence to take the 1982 title. Four years later Pironi almost returned to F1 only to be prevented for insurance reasons (his pay out was based on the assumption he wouldn’t race again) and instead turned to offshore boat racing. He was killed in a boating accident in 1987.

Regarded as one of Britain’s brightest hopes when he got his full-time F1 break in 1990, Martin Donnelly sadly never had the chance to properly demonstrate the form that had him winning races in the Formula 3000 feeder series. Paired with the uncompetitive and unreliable Lamborghini-powered Lotus for 1990, Donnelly was almost be killed in a horrendous accident during the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. Crashing at the fast right-hander leading onto the back straight, the Lotus split in two and Donnelly – still strapped into his seat – was flung from the car and left lying on the track. Knocked unconscious, the 26 year-old Donnelly almost faced having his leg amputated but it would be saved by the swift work of F1 doctors. However, the severity of the accident would all but end his racing career save for the odd low key domestic appearances in recent years.

Could Alessandro Nannini have become an F1 champion with Ferrari? Many feel the Italian would have at least been destined for success with the 'Prancing Horse' had a helicopter crash towards the end of the 1990 season not severed his forearm. The Italian was in the midst of his third season with Benetton at the time, during which he had matched more experienced team-mates and delivered some eye-catching results, not least his one and only win in Japan in 1989. The results had also caught the attention of Ferrari who were reportedly planning to offer him a contract for 1991 when the accident at his own vineyard brought an abrupt halt to a flourishing F1 career. Despite this, Nannini did return to motorsport and enjoyed race winning success in the demanding DTM/ITC touring car series with Alfa Romeo.' However, save for a couple of tests, he never returned to F1 racing.

Jyrki Juhani Järvilehto, better known as JJ Lehto, had injury to blame for a slow decline in form that ultimately ended his F1 career in 1994. Eye-catching drives with Scuderia Italia and Sauber had earned Lehto a plum seat in the competitive Benetton for 1994 but a pre-season testing crash left him nursing a serious neck injury that forced him to miss the opening two rounds. On his return to action in the ill-fated 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Lehto stalled on the grid and was struck from behind by Pedro Lamy, who in turn suffered serious leg injuries he struggled to recover from too. Lehto made sporadic attempts to return over the course of the season but he would eventually be dropped by Benetton and picked up by Sauber, itself seeking a replacement for Karl Wendlinger after his own struggles to return from injury. Lehto turned his back on F1 after 1994 having never been able to fulfil the promise he showed pre-injury and turned his attention to sportscars, becoming a three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner.

Better known now for his advisory role to Red Bull, Helmut Marko has been responsible for discovering some of F1’s brightest talents, including Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen… but it is easy to forget he was once an F1 driver himself, one who had his career ended by a freak incident. Making his F1 debut with BRM at the end of the 1971 season, Marko continued into 1972 only to be permanently blinded in the left eye when a stone kicked up by Emerson Fittipaldi’s Lotus pierced his helmet visor. The incident ended his racing career, but he would go on to enjoy success as a team and driver manager until his current high-profile role within the Red Bull fold.

World renowned for his remarkable skill behind the wheel of almost any racing car he could get his hands on, Stirling Moss raced for the pure thrill of racing. From F1, to the Mille Miglia, to the Le Mans 24 Hours, Moss raced a broad range of cars in different competitions – at times more than 50 races a year – and for a variety of manufacturers during his active years of 1948 and 1962. A four-time F1 runner-up, Moss might have won that elusive title but for a crash during the Glover Trophy at Goodwood, which left him in a coma for a month, while the left-hand side of his body remained paralysed for six months. He attempted a comeback but felt he had lost his edge behind the wheel and instead opted to retire from professional racing aged 33.

Considered one of the best F1 drivers never to win a Formula 1 World Championship title, Clay Regazzoni was a five-time race winner and visited the podium on 28 occasions in a career spanning 10 years before his life changed dramatically during the 1980 United States Grand Prix West at Long Beach. Suffering a catastrophic brake failure on his Ensign around the street circuit, Regazzoni struck the back of Ricardo Zunino’s Brabham that had been parked in the escape road following his DNF on lap one. The Swiss was knocked unconscious and though he survived, he was paralysed from the waist down. He did, however, continue racing in the gruelling Paris-Dakar Rally and even the Sebring 12 Hours sportscar race.