# What is the greatest comeback in motorsport history?

> Careers that were written off in a hospital bed and then went back to work. Some returns took six weeks, others took five years.

*By YPB Team · Published August 29, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-greatest-comeback-in-motorsport-history*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Niki Lauda** — score 1000/1000
   Back in a Ferrari six weeks after the burns and the last rites at the Nurburgring in 1976, and champion again in 1977.
2. **Michael Schumacher** — score 874/1000
   Came out of retirement at 41 for three seasons with Mercedes, a year after a neck injury stopped an earlier return.
3. **Marc Marquez** — score 753/1000
   Broke his right arm at Jerez in 2020, had four operations over three seasons, and won the MotoGP title again in 2025.
4. **Jorge Lorenzo** — score 753/1000
   Crashed in practice at Assen in 2013, had a plate put in his collarbone and finished fifth in the race two days later.
5. **Barry Sheene** — score 565/1000
   Survived a 175mph crash at Daytona in 1975 with a broken femur and wrist, and was winning grands prix again months later.
6. **Dario Franchitti** — score 565/1000
   Walked away from a failed NASCAR season in 2008, went back to IndyCar and won three straight titles and the 2010 Indianapolis 500.
7. **Mick Doohan** — score 439/1000
   Nearly lost a leg at Assen in 1992, then won five straight 500cc world championships.
8. **Mika Hakkinen** — score 439/1000
   Survived a skull fracture in qualifying at Adelaide in 1995 and won the Formula 1 championship in 1998 and 1999.
9. **Freddie Spencer** — score 439/1000
   Won the 250cc and 500cc world championships in the same 1985 season, a double nobody has repeated.
10. **Kimi Raikkonen** — score 439/1000
   Spent two years in the World Rally Championship, returned to Formula 1 in 2012 and won in Abu Dhabi.
11. **Alex Zanardi** — score 282/1000
   Lost both legs in a 2001 CART crash, then won a touring-car race with hand controls and four Paralympic golds.
12. **Robert Kubica** — score 282/1000
   Partially severed his forearm in a 2011 rally crash and returned to a Formula 1 race seat in 2019.
13. **Valentino Rossi** — score 282/1000
   Left Honda for a Yamaha that had not won a premier-class title since 1992, and won the 2004 opener on it at Welkom.
14. **Fernando Alonso** — score 282/1000
   Left Formula 1 in 2018 for Le Mans and the Dakar, then came back to the grid in 2021 and stood on the podium.

Tags: racing, drivers, legends, motorsport