Like all heroes, Brett Lunger denies being one. To him, running into fire broiling from Niki Lauda’s crashed Ferrari, its tanks still first-lap full, was simply what one does when action must be instantaneous. He says he didn’t even think about it.
Yet the rescue will forever define this American driver’s F1 career. Footage is easily found on YouTube. Other drivers are assisting, but Lunger is the man you see jumping atop the burning car, straddling the cockpit and hauling the World Champion out.
