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July 12th 2009 was a momentous day for Australian Mark Webber as he rode his Red Bull car to victory in the German Grand Prix.

It was Webber's first Formula One victory and he became only the third Australian to win a Formula One Grand Prix

However, it was victory made sweeter for all the hard work and determination he had put in during the winter after a serious accident in November 2008.

The accident didn't occur though whilst he was driving, although he was involved in a road accident in Tasmania.

Webber was cycling when he collided head on with a car and sustained a broken leg, which stopped him from carrying out testing on his Formula One car during the winter.

It could have put in to doubt his chances of starting the season in March, but he was clearly spurred on by how good the car looked when his team mate Sebastian Vettel tested it in the winter.

Webber was quoted in the Guardian newspaper saying "It was soon clear that my leg was not as healed as I would like it, but it was clear from the speed Sebastian was showing in testing that the car was going to be very competitive."

Of course Formula One has witnessed many accidents in the past, some with fatal consequences.

Perhaps the most high profile in the sport's history was in 1994 when Brazilian Ayrton Senna was killed after his Williams car crashed into a concrete wall at 135 miles per hour.

Ironically though Senna had considered retiring before the race, after Austrian driver HYPERLINK "http://www.f1complete.com/content/view/373/273/" Roland Ratzenberger died during practice the day before.

Sadly he didn't and we will never know how many more races and championships Senna could have gone on to win.

At the time Senna was believed by many to be the greatest driver in Formula One history, and such were the shock waves sent through the sport that the safety record since has been excellent.

Tracks have been slowed down and car safety improved resulting in the fatalities in Formula One being eradicated since Senna's tragic accident, although a reminder of the danger has been given with the near fatal accident involving Felipe Massa in July.

Niki Lauda though was one of the comeback kings, for like Mark Webber he survived a terrible accident to come back and gain further glory in a sport he loved.

Unlike Webber his accident occurred during a Formula One race in 1976 when his Ferrari crashed and burst in to flames.

The Austrian suffered severe burns, inhaled toxic gases and lapsed in to a coma, with the injuries so serious that a priest administered the last rites.

Amazingly though Lauda recovered with extensive scarring caused by the burns, for which he only had surgery to get his eyelids to work properly.

He was back in the seat of his Ferrari just six weeks later, only losing the driver's championship that year by one point to James Hunt, but he went on to win the championship the following year.

We all know racing drivers are incredibly brave but there must be more to their mentaility than just bravery.

They are a special breed driven by the thrill of the race, the speed of the cars and the glory of winning races.

This was summed up by Mark Webber after his win at the Nurburgring when he said: "It's an incredible day for me. I wanted to win so badly."