In 1976 Lauda was comfortably leading the championship when he crashed at the , seriously injuring himself. Carlos Reutemann was hired as a replacement, and Ferrari fielded three cars in the 1976 Italian Grand Prix when Lauda returned unexpectedly soon (only six weeks after his accident). Lauda scored points twice in the races following his severe crash, but voluntarily withdrew from the season-ending Grand Prix at Fuji after two laps because of heavy rain, and James Hunt won the drivers' title by a single point, but Ferrari won the constructors' title for the second year in a row.