James Hunt won the 1976 Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship despite missing two races after Niki Lauda’s Nürburgring crash.
Hunt drove a McLaren M23 and won six Grands Prix during the season. Lauda had led the championship for much of the year, but he suffered severe injuries in the German Grand Prix and missed the next two races while recovering.
Lauda made a remarkable return at the Italian Grand Prix, setting up a dramatic finale. Hunt won the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix, while heavy rain affected the race and Lauda retired on safety grounds. Hunt therefore secured the championship by a single point.
The 1976 rivalry became widely known beyond Formula 1 through books, documentaries and the 2013 film Rush. The film dramatizes events, but the championship result and one-point margin are historical facts.