Greatest Comebacks Season 1

In 1995 Mika Häkkinen suffered a life-threatening crash during qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix on the Adelaide Street Circuit. Through sheer hard work and determination, a gaunt and pale Häkkinen was incredibly back to line up on the grid for the first race of 1996. And just under three years later, still physically compromised by the effects of the incident, he would be crowned world champion in a story ending that Hollywood would be proud of. The story of Häkkinen’s incredible comeback is told by those closest to him, including Mercedes’ Head of Motorsport Norbert Haug, Finnish F1 journalist Heikki Kulta and his former McLaren race engineer Steve Hallam.

In 1991 Alain Prost was a triple world champion racing for F1’s most prestigious team - Ferrari. But his high standards and determination to be the best drove his relationship with them to breaking point. After a year on the sidelines, he engineered a comeback with Williams in an unfamiliar and high-tech ‘active ride’ car designed by Adrian Newey. To win again, ‘The Professor’ would need to use all of his smarts and cunning to prove he still had what it takes. The story of Prost’s remarkable journey to a fourth world championship is told by his former race engineer David Brown, 1993 Williams development driver David Coulthard and the team’s former PR manager Ann Bradshaw.

After two years missing out on the world championship at the final round, Michael Schumacher was under intense pressure to deliver Ferrari’s first world title in 20 years. But a broken leg following a brake failure at Silverstone would shatter his world, and his enforced time away from the sport enabled him to hit the reset button. He returned stronger than ever, setting new standards for drivers at the pinnacle of motorsport, helping his team fight off their rivals and beginning an era of unprecedented success. Schumacher’s comeback story is told by his former manager Sabine Kehm, Professor Bill Ribbans - the surgeon who operated on his broken leg in 1999, and German F1 journalist Karin Sturm.

Kimi Räikkönen had a raw natural talent unmatched by anyone on the grid, but after winning the 2007 world championship, remarkably found himself without a seat on the grid just two years later. Unmotivated by his options, he turned his back on F1 - and spent two seasons away competing in the World Rally Championship. But after such a long time out, could the rusty Räikkönen recapture his former glories as he spearheaded the return of the legendary Lotus name to Formula 1 in 2012? His comeback story is brought to life by his Lotus teammateRoman Grosjean, former Team Principal Eric Boullier and his close friend and former trainer Mark Arnall.