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James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993) ''Autocourse Grand Prix Archive'', 14 October 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007. was a British racing driver who won the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

World Championship in . After retiring from racing in 1979, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman. Beginning his racing career in

touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States. While the cars do not move ...

, Hunt progressed into

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

, where he attracted the attention of the

Hesketh Racing Hesketh Racing was a Formula One constructor from the United Kingdom, which competed from 1973 to 1978. The team competed in 52 World Championship Grands Prix, winning one and achieving eight further podium finishes. Its best placing in the ...

team and soon came under their wing. Hunt's often reckless and action-packed exploits on track earned him the nickname "Hunt the Shunt" (''shunt,'' as a British motor-racing term, means "crash"). Hunt entered Formula One in , driving a March 731 entered by the Hesketh Racing team. He went on to win for Hesketh, driving their own

Hesketh 308 The Hesketh 308 and its derived sister model the 308B are Formula One racing cars designed by Harvey Postlethwaite for Hesketh Racing to compete in the and World Championships. The car gave James Hunt his first World Championship Grand Prix wi ...

car, in both World Championship and non-championship races, before joining the

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

team at the end of . In his first year with McLaren, Hunt won the 1976 World Drivers' Championship, and he remained with the team for a further two years, although with less success, before moving to the

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

team in early . Following a string of races in which he failed to finish, Hunt retired from driving halfway through the 1979 season. After retiring from motor racing, he established a career as a motor racing commentator for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

. He died from a heart attack aged 45.

Early life

Hunt was born in Belmont,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, the second child of Wallis Glynn Gunthorpe Hunt (1922–2001), a stockbroker, and Susan (Sue) Noel Wentworth () Hunt. He had an elder sister, Sally, three younger brothers, Peter, Timothy and

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, and one younger sister, Georgina. Wallis Hunt was descended on his mother's side from the industrialist and politician

Sir William Jackson, 1st Baronet Sir William Jackson, 1st Baronet (28 April 1805 – 31 January 1876) was an English industrialist, railway entrepreneur and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1847 and 1868. Early life Jackson was the 7th son of Peter J ...

. Hunt's family lived in a flat in Cheam, Surrey, moved to

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a location * Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire * ...

when he was 11 and then to a larger home in Belmont. He attended Westerleigh Preparatory School, St Leonards-on-Sea Sussex and later

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin * Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...

. Hunt first learned to drive on a tractor on a farm in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

, Wales, while on a family holiday, with instruction from the farm's owner, but he found changing gears frustrating because he lacked the required strength.Donaldson 1994, pp. 16–19. Hunt passed his driving test one week after his seventeenth birthday, at which point he said his life "really began".Donaldson 1994, pp. 24–30. He also took up skiing in 1965 in Scotland, and made plans for further ski trips. Before his eighteenth birthday, he went to the home of Chris Ridge, his tennis doubles partner. Ridge's brother Simon, who raced Minis, was preparing his car for a race at Silverstone that weekend. The Ridges took Hunt to see the race, which began his obsession with motor racing.

Early career

Mini racing

Hunt's racing career started off in a racing

Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

. He first entered a race at the

Snetterton Circuit Snetterton Circuit is a motor racing course in Norfolk, England, originally opened in 1953. Owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, it is situated on the A11 road north-east of the town of Thetford and south-west of the c ...

in Norfolk, but race scrutineers prevented him from competing, deeming the Mini to have many irregularities, which left Hunt and his team mate, Justin Fry, upset. Hunt later brought the necessary funding from working as a trainee manager of a telephone company to enter three events. At this point Fry made the decision to part company with the team, owing to the irregularities and modifications that were happening to the cars they were using.

Formula Ford

Hunt graduated to

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

in 1968. He drove a Russell-Alexis Mark 14 car bought through a

hire-purchase A hire purchase (HP), also known as an installment plan, is an arrangement whereby a customer agrees to a contract to acquire an asset by paying an initial installment (e.g., 40% of the total) and repaying the balance of the price of the asset pl ...

scheme. In his first race at Snetterton, Hunt had lost 15 hp from an incorrect engine ignition setting, but managed to finish fifth. Hunt took his first win at Lydden Hill and also set the lap record on the

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...

short circuit.Donaldson 1994 pp. 43–45.

Formula Three

1969 F3 Guards Trophy Brands Hatch James Hunt Brabham BT21

In 1969, Hunt raced in

with a budget, provided by Gowrings of Reading, which bought a Merlyn Mark 11A. Gowrings intended to run the car in the final two races of 1968. Hunt won several races and achieved regular high-placed finishes, which led to the British Guild of Motoring Writers awarding him a

Grovewood Award The Grovewood Awards (later becoming the Cellnet Awards and then the McLaren Autosport BRDC Awards) were a series of British motor racing awards presented each year in the United Kingdom to the year's up-and-coming British and Commonwealth racing d ...

as one of the three drivers judged to have promising careers. Hunt was involved in a controversial incident with Dave Morgan during a battle for second position in the Formula Three Daily Express Trophy race at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

on 3 October 1970. Having banged wheels earlier in a very closely fought race, Morgan attempted to pass Hunt on the outside of South Tower Corner on the final lap, but instead the cars collided and crashed out of the race. Hunt's car came to rest in the middle of the track, minus two wheels. Hunt got out, ran over to Morgan and furiously pushed him to the ground, which earned him severe official disapproval. Both men were summoned by the RAC and after hearing evidence from other drivers, Hunt was cleared by a tribunal and Morgan was given a 12-month suspension of his racing licence, but was subsequently allowed to progress to

Formula Atlantic Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club o ...

in 1971. Hunt later met with John Hogan and racing driver Gerry Birrell to obtain sponsorship from

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

. Hunt's career continued in the works

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

team for 1972. His first race at

Mallory Park Mallory Park is a motor racing circuit situated in the village of Kirkby Mallory, just off the A47, between Leicester and Hinckley, in central England. Originally used for grass-track until 1955, a new, basically oval hard-surfaced course ...

saw him finish third, but he was told by race officials he had been excluded from the results, as his engine was deemed to be outside the regulations. The car, however, passed tests at the next two races at Brands Hatch. In these races, Hunt finished fourth and fifth respectively. He collided with two cars at

Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection al ...

but finished third at Mallory Park after a long duel with Roger Williamson. The cars did not appear at

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

, but Hunt still attended the race as a spectator.Donaldson 1994, pp. 75–76. In May 1972, it was announced by the team that he had been dropped from the STP-March Formula 3 team and replaced by Jochen Mass. When Hunt attempted to contact March, he was unable to get any response from his employers. Hunt decided to consult Chris Marshall, his former team manager, who explained that a spare car was available. This followed a period characterised by a series of mechanical failures. Hunt decided, against the express instructions of March director

Max Mosley Max Rufus Mosley (13 April 1940 – 23 May 2021) was a British racing driver, lawyer, and president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), a non-profit association which represents the interests of motoring organisations and ...

, to race at

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

in a March from a different team. This had been vacated by driver Jean-Claude Alzerat, after Hunt's own March had first broken down and then been hit by another competitor in a practice lap.Skilleter, Paul (Charles Bulmer, ed.). "Sporting side: Hunt out – Mass in." ''Motor'', 3 June 1972, pp. 46–47.

Formula One career

1973–1975: Hesketh

;1973 Hesketh purchased a March 731 chassis, and it was developed by

Harvey Postlethwaite Harvey Ernest Postlethwaite (4 March 194415 April 1999) was a British engineer and Technical Director of several Formula One teams during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He died of a heart attack in Spain while supervising the testing of the aborted ...

. The team was initially not taken seriously by rivals, who saw the Hesketh team as party goers enjoying the glamour of Formula One. However, the Hesketh March proved much more competitive than the works March cars, and their best result was second place at the

1973 United States Grand Prix The 1973 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 7, 1973 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 15 of 15 in both the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 Intern ...

. Hunt also made a brief venture into

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...

at the 1973 Kyalami Nine Hours, driving a Mirage M6 along with Derek Bell, finishing second. After the season's end, Hunt was awarded with the Campbell Trophy from the RAC marking his performance in Formula One as the best by a British driver. ;1974 For the season,

built a car, inspired by the March, called the

, but an accompanying V12 engine never materialised. Hunt's first test of the car came at Silverstone and found it more stable than its predecessor, the March 731. Hunt was retained on a £15,000 salary. The Hesketh team captured the public imagination as a car without sponsors' markings, a teddy-bear badge and a devil-may-care team ethos, which belied the fact that their engineers were highly competent professionals. In

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, Hunt qualified fifth and led briefly before being overtaken by

Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver. Known by the nickname 'SuperSwede', he was a two-time runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Peterson began his motor racing caree ...

before Hunt spun off the track and eventually retired due to engine failure. In

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, Hunt retired from fifth place with a broken driveshaft. Hunt's season highlight was a victory at the

BRDC International Trophy The International Trophy is a prize awarded annually by the British Racing Drivers' Club to the winner of a motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit, England. For many years it formed the premier non-championship Formula One event in Britain, ...

non-championship race at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

, against the majority of the regular F1 field. ;1975 James Hunt with Hesketh

Hunt finished sixth in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and retired with an engine failure in

. In

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, Hunt led the first six laps before colliding with a barrier with the same cause of retirement in

. He had a further two retirements in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, both of which were due to mechanical failures. Hunt's first win came in the

1975 Dutch Grand Prix The 1975 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Zandvoort on 22 June 1975. It was race 8 of 14 in both the 1975 World Championship of Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the 24th ...

. He finished fourth in the Championship that year, but Lord Hesketh had run out of funds and could not find a sponsor for his team. With little time left before the season, Hunt was desperately looking for a drive until

Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once. Moving up from Formula Two, Fittip ...

left

and joined his brother's Copersucar-Fittipaldi outfit. With no other top drivers available, the team management signed Hunt to McLaren – in a deal brokered by Marlboro's John Hogan – for the next season on a $200,000 contract.

1976–1978: McLaren

;1976 The season proved to be one of the most dramatic and controversial on record. While Hunt's performances in the Hesketh had drawn considerable praise, there was some speculation as to whether he could really sustain a championship challenge. Now a works McLaren driver, he dispelled many doubters at the first race in Brazil, where, in a hastily rebuilt

McLaren M23 The McLaren M23 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck, with input from John Barnard, and built by the McLaren team. It was a development of the McLaren M16 Indianapolis 500 car. A Ford Cosworth DFV engine was used, which wa ...

, he landed pole position in the last minutes of qualifying. Over the course of the year he would drive the McLaren M23 to six Grands Prix wins, but with superior reliability reigning world champion and main rival

Niki Lauda Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in Formula ...

had pulled out a substantial points lead in the first few races of the season. Hunt's first race win of 1976, at the fourth race of the season, the

Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...

, resulted in disqualification for driving a car adjudged to be 1.8 cm too wide. The win was later reinstated upon appeal, but it set the tone for an extraordinarily volatile season. At the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...

, Hunt was involved in a first corner incident on the first lap with Lauda which led to the race being stopped and restarted. Hunt initially attempted to take a spare car, however this was disallowed, and during this time the original race car was repaired, eventually winning the restarted race. Hunt's victory was disallowed on 24 September by a ruling from the FIA after Ferrari complained that Hunt was not legally allowed to restart the race. Lauda sustained near-fatal injuries in an accident at the following round, the

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in R ...

at the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

. Hunt dominated the restarted Nürburgring race, building an immediate lead and remaining unchallenged to the chequered flag. Lauda's injuries kept him out of the following two races, allowing Hunt to close the gap in the championship chase. At

, Hunt overtook

on the 12th lap and resisted pressure from John Watson to win. At the

Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...

, the big story was Lauda's miraculous return from his Nürburgring accident. At a circuit that should have suited Hunt's car, the

Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Indepe ...

fuel McLaren were using was tested and although apparently legal, their cars, and those of the

Penske Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holding ...

team, were judged to contain a higher octane level than allowed. Subsequently, both teams were forced to start from the rear of the grid. While trying to make his way up the field, Hunt spun off, and Lauda finished fourth. At the next round in Canada, Hunt found out that he had been disqualified from the British Grand Prix and Lauda had been awarded the victory and thus received three additional points. A furious Hunt drove a very hard race at the challenging

Mosport Park Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi- track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a ad ...

circuit and won. At the penultimate round in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the daunting Watkins Glen track, Hunt started from pole and took victory after a close battle with

Jody Scheckter Jody David Scheckter (born 29 January 1950) is a South African business proprietor and former motor racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980, winning the Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari. Scheckter remains the only Afri ...

. This set the stage for the final round in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Hunt's late season charge pulled him to just three points behind Lauda. The sliding scale of points for the top six finishers meant that Hunt needed to finish third (4-points) or better to overtake Lauda in the championship. Lauda needed to earn two points fewer than Hunt, or better, to stay ahead. McLaren team manager

Alastair Caldwell Alastair Caldwell (born 1943) is a British-New Zealand motorsports manager. He was the McLaren Formula One motor-racing team manager from 1974 to 1978. Early life Caldwell's father was an army officer and he was born in Sheffield, West Riding of ...

had taken advantage of the gap between the final two races to hire the Fuji circuit – a track hosting its first Grand Prix and therefore unknown to all the teams – for an exclusive McLaren test. After a few laps the gearbox seized, bringing the test to a premature close, but the team had had the advantage of acclimatising themselves to the new circuit. Conditions for the race itself were torrentially wet. Lauda retired early on in the race, unable to blink because of facial burns from his accident in Germany. After leading most of the race Hunt suffered a puncture, then had a delayed pitstop and finally received mixed pit signals from his team. But he managed to finish in third place, scoring four points, enough for him to win the World Championship by one point. Hunt was the last British Formula One champion until

Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell, (; born 8 August 1953) is a British retired racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship (1992) and the CART Indy Car World Series ( 1993). Mansell was the reigning F1 champion when he moved over ...

won the 1992 championship for Williams. He was, relatively, one of the cheapest F1 World Champions ever, having signed at the last minute for $200,000 – a scenario similar to that of 1982 champion

Keke Rosberg Keijo Erik Rosberg (born 6 December 1948), known as "Keke" (), is a Finnish former racing driver and winner of the Formula One World Championship. He was the first Finnish driver to compete regularly in the series, as well as the first Finnish ...

;1977 Before the start of 1977, Hunt attended a gala function at the Europa Hotel in London where he was awarded the Tarmac Trophy, along with two cheques, for £2000 and £500 respectively, a magnum of champagne and other awards. The presentation was made by the

Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of peerage of Great Britain, Great Britain and the peerage of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom, most recently as a Royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom, royal dukedom ...

. Hunt made an acceptance speech after the event which was considered "suitably gracious and glamorous". The media were critical of Hunt as he attended the event dressed in jeans, T-shirt and a decrepit windbreaker. Before the

South African Grand Prix The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Richard "Dick" Seaman, R ...

, Hunt was confronted by customs officials who searched his luggage, finding no illegal substances except a publication that contravened the strict obscenity laws of South Africa. Hunt was later released, and tested at

Kyalami Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit (from ''Khaya lami'', ''My home'' in Zulu) is a motor racing circuit located in Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa, just north of Johannesburg. The circuit has been used for Grand Prix and Formula One races and has ho ...

where his

McLaren M26 The McLaren M26 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck for the McLaren team, to replace the aging McLaren M23 model. The car was designed to be a lighter and lower car than its predecessor, with a smaller frontal area and narro ...

suffered a loose brake caliper which cut a hole in one of the tyres. He recovered and put the car on pole position. The race saw Hunt suffer a collision with Jody Schekter's

and another with

Patrick Depailler Patrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler (; 9 August 1944 – 1 August 1980) was a racing driver from France. He participated in 95 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 July 1972. He also participated in several non-champi ...

's Tyrrell, but he still managed to finish fourth. The season did not start well for Hunt. The

was problematic in the early part of the season, during which

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

and Jody Scheckter took a considerable lead in the Drivers' Championship. Towards the end of the year Hunt and the McLaren M26 were quicker than any rival combination other than

and the

Lotus 78 The Lotus 78 was a Formula One racing car used in the and seasons. It was designed by Peter Wright, Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie and Tony Rudd, and was the first ground effect car in Formula One. Concept In early 1976, spurred on by a ...

. Hunt won in Silverstone after trailing the Brabham of John Watson for 25 laps. He then took a further victory at Watkins Glen. At the

Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix du Canada) is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sports ...

, Hunt retired after a collision with team-mate Jochen Mass and was fined $2000 for assaulting a marshal and $750 for walking back to the pit lane in an "unsafe manner". In Fuji, Hunt won the race but did not attend the podium ceremony resulting in a fine of $20,000. He finished fifth in the World Drivers' Championship. ;1978 Before the season Hunt had high hopes to win a second world championship; however, in this season he scored only eight world championship points. Lotus had developed effective ground effect aerodynamics with their

Lotus 79 The Lotus 79 is a Formula One car designed in late 1977 by Colin Chapman, Geoff Aldridge, Martin Ogilvie, Tony Rudd, Tony Southgate and Peter Wright of Lotus. The Lotus 79 was the first F1 car to take full advantage of ground effects aerod ...

car and McLaren were slow to respond. The M26 was revised as a ground effect car midway through the season but it did not work, and without a test driver to solve the car's problems, Hunt's motivation was low. His inexperienced new team-mate

Patrick Tambay Patrick Daniel Tambay (25 June 1949 – 4 December 2022) was a French racing driver, commentator, and politician, who competed in 123 Formula One races between 1977 and 1986, securing five pole positions and winning twice. Between 1977 and 198 ...

even outqualified Hunt at one race. In Germany, Hunt was disqualified for taking a shortcut to allow for a tyre change. Hunt was also greatly affected by Ronnie Peterson's fatal crash in the 1978 Italian Grand Prix. At the start of the race there was a huge accident going into the first corner. Peterson's Lotus was pushed into the barriers and burst into flames. Hunt, together with

and

Clay Regazzoni Gianclaudio Giuseppe "Clay" Regazzoni (5 September 1939 – 15 December 2006) was a Swiss racing driver. He competed in Formula One races from 1970 to 1980, winning five Grands Prix. His first win was the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in his debu ...

, rescued Peterson from the car, but Peterson died one day later in hospital. Hunt took his friend's death particularly hard and for years afterwards blamed

Riccardo Patrese Riccardo Gabriele Patrese (born 17 April 1954) is an Italian former racing driver, who raced in Formula One from to . He became the first Formula One driver to achieve 200 Grand Prix starts when he appeared at the 1990 British Grand Prix, and ...

for the accident. Video evidence of the crash has since shown that Patrese did not touch Hunt or Peterson's cars, nor did he cause any other car to do so.Widdows, R. "Patrese: more sinned against than sinning?" ''Motor Sport'', 83/11, November 2007, pp. 82–85. Hunt believed that it was Patrese's muscling past that caused the McLaren and Lotus to touch, but Patrese argues that he was already well ahead of the pair before the accident took place.

1979: Walter Wolf Racing

For , Hunt had resolved to leave the McLaren team. Despite his poor season in 1978 he was still very much in demand.

persuaded Hunt to join

Walter Wolf Racing Walter Wolf Racing was a Formula One constructor active from 1977 to 1979, which won the first race the team entered. It was owned and run by Canadian Walter Wolf. The team was based in Reading, UK but raced with the Canadian licence. Histo ...

– a one-car team where he would have found an atmosphere similar to the one he had experienced at Hesketh at the beginning of his career. Again he had high hopes to win races and compete for the world championship in what would be his last, and ultimately brief, Formula One season. The team's ground effect car was uncompetitive and Hunt soon lost any enthusiasm for racing. Hunt could only watch as Jody Scheckter won the World Drivers' Championship that year driving the Ferrari 312T4. At the first race in

, he felt the car was difficult to handle and on a fast lap, the front wing became detached striking his helmet. In the race, Hunt retired due to an electrical fault. In

, he retired on lap 6 due to instability under braking caused by a loose steering rack. During qualifying in

, the brakes on his car failed. He managed not to collide with the wall, but only finished 8th in the race. He retired at the

after 26 laps. At

Zolder The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. History Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, ...

, a new Wolf WR8 was raced but Hunt crashed into a barrier hard enough to bounce back onto the track. After failing to finish the 1979 Monaco Grand Prix, the race where six years previously he had made his debut, Hunt made a statement on 8 June 1979 to the press announcing his immediate retirement from F1 competition, citing his situation in the championship, and was replaced by future world champion

. Despite going into retirement, he continued to work to promote his personal sponsors

Marlboro Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Mar ...

and Olympus. According to Peter Warr, Hunt had been badly affected by the Ronnie Peterson accident in Monza the year before and his heart was no longer in it. Warr recalled Hunt telling him that he discovered that if he nudged the car up against the barrier and give it a squirt of throttle in second gear, it would break a driveshaft. "At Monaco, four laps into the race, James stopped up the hill by Rosie's bar, with a broken driveshaft. Then he told us he was retiring."

Later career (1979–1993)

Commentary career

Soon after retirement, in 1979, Hunt was approached by Jonathan Martin, the head of BBC television sport, to become a television commentator alongside

Murray Walker Graeme Murray Walker (10 October 1923 – 13 March 2021) was an English motorsport commentator and journalist. He provided television commentary of live Formula One coverage for the BBC between 1976 and 1996, and for ITV between 1997 and 20 ...

on the

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

Formula One racing programme ''Grand Prix''. After a guest commentary at the

1979 British Grand Prix The 1979 British Grand Prix (formally the XXXII Marlboro British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 14 July 1979. It was the ninth race of the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for ...

, Hunt accepted the position and continued for thirteen years until his death. During his first live broadcast at the 1980 Monaco Grand Prix, Hunt placed his plaster-cast leg into Walker's lap and drank two bottles of wine during the broadcast. Hunt regularly went into the booth minutes before a race started, which concerned Martin, who believed that Hunt was "a guy that lived on adrenaline."Donaldson 1994, pp. 312–313. In the commentary booth, the producers supplied only one microphone to Walker and Hunt, to avoid them talking over each other. On one occasion, Hunt wanted the microphone and went up to Walker, who had continued for longer than expected, and grabbed him by the collar, with Walker having his fist near to Hunt. On another occasion, Hunt grabbed the microphone cord and cracked it like a whip, which yanked the microphone out of Walker's hand. His insights and dry sense of humour brought him a new fanbase. He often heavily criticised drivers he did not think were trying hard enough – during the BBC's live broadcast of the 1989 Monaco Grand Prix he described

René Arnoux René Alexandre Arnoux (; born 4 July 1948) is a French former racing driver who competed in 12 Formula One seasons (1978 to 1989). He participated in 165 World Championship Grands Prix (149 starts) winning seven of them, achieving 22 podium fi ...

's comments that non-turbo cars did not suit the Frenchman's driving skills as "bullshit". He also had a reputation for speaking out against back-markers who held up race leaders. Other than Arnoux, Hunt's other frequent targets included

Andrea de Cesaris Andrea de Cesaris (31 May 19595 October 2014) was an Italian racing driver. He started 208 Formula One Grands Prix but never won. As a result, he holds the record for the most races started without a race victory. A string of accidents early in ...

Philippe Alliot Philippe Alliot (born 27 July 1954) is a former racing driver who participated in Formula One from to and from to . He raced for RAM, Ligier, Larrousse and McLaren. Early career Prior to his career in Formula One he competed during 1976 and 19 ...

Jean-Pierre Jarier Jean-Pierre Jacques Jarier (born 10 July 1946) is a French former Grand Prix racing driver. He drove for Formula One teams including Shadow, Team Lotus, Ligier, Osella and Tyrrell Racing. His best finish was third (three times) and he also to ...

and

. Hunt criticised Jean-Pierre Jarier for blocking leaders, calling him "pig ignorant", a "French wally" and having a "mental age of ten" during live broadcasts. Hunt further suggested that Jarier should be banned from racing "for being himself". Hunt did not want his commentaries broadcast in South Africa during the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

years but when he could not stop this from happening, he gave his fees to black-led groups working to overthrow apartheid. Hunt also commented on Grand Prix racing in newspaper columns which were published in ''The Independent'' and elsewhere, and in magazines.Tremayne, Davi
"Obituary: James Hunt."
''The Independent'', 16 June 1993. Retrieved 30 March 2015.

Attempted comebacks

In 1980, Hunt nearly made a comeback with McLaren at the United States Grand Prix West, asking for $1 million for the race. This opportunity came about when regular driver

Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French retired racing driver and Formula One team owner. A four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, from 1987 until 2001 he held the record for most Grand Prix victories until Micha ...

broke his wrist during practice for the previous round in

, and the French rookie was not fully fit to drive at Long Beach. The team's main sponsor, Marlboro, offered half the figure but negotiations ended after Hunt broke his leg while skiing. In 1982

Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is an English business magnate. He is the former chief executive of the Formula One Group, which manages Formula One motor racing and controls the commercial rights to the sport, and part-owns ...

, owner of the

Brabham Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won four ...

team, offered Hunt a salary of £2.6 million for the season but was rejected by Hunt. In 1990, Hunt was in financial trouble with the loss of £180,000 investing in

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...

and considered a comeback with the Williams team. He had tested on the

Paul Ricard Circuit The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has h ...

a few months prior to test modern cars and was several seconds off the pace and believed he would be physically prepared. Hunt attempted to persuade John Hogan, VP Marketing of Philip Morris Europe, to support the possible comeback, and presented him with bank statement for proof of being indebted.

Other projects

Hunt made a brief appearance in the 1979 British silent slapstick comedy '' The Plank'', as well as co-starring with

Fred Emney Frederick Arthur Round Emney (12 February 1902 – 25 December 1980) was an English character actor and comedian. Emney was born in Prescot, Lancashire,GRO Register of Births Mar 1902 Frederick Arthur R Emney 8b 725 PRESCOT1901 Census: ...

in a

Havoline TV advertisement. He also made a posthumous appearance on ITV's ''

Police Camera Action! ''Police Camera Action!'' is a police video programme made by Optomen Television, originally broadcast on ITV with repeats airing on ITV4. It was originally commissioned through Carlton Television. It was presented by Alastair Stewart from 1994 ...

'' special ''Crash Test Racers'' in 2000; this was one of many interviews to be aired posthumously. Hunt also competed in an exhibition race to mark the opening of the new Nürburgring in May 1984. Despite having no licence to ride a motorcycle, he accepted, instead of his usual fee, the then-new 1980 electric start

Triumph Bonneville The Triumph Bonneville is a Types of motorcycles#Standard, standard motorcycle featuring a Straight-twin engine, parallel-twin four-stroke engine and manufactured in three generations over three separate production runs. The first two generation ...

he had contracted to advertise on behalf of the struggling Triumph motorcycle workers' co-operative. With journalistic mirth, he turned up at the press launch with his foot in plaster. Hunt was hired by John Hogan as an adviser and tutor to drivers who were sponsored by Marlboro, instructing them in the tactics of driving and the approach to racing.

Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968), nicknamed "The Flying Finn", is a Finnish former racing driver. He won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1998 and 1999, both times driving for McLaren. Häkkinen is one of three Fo ...

and Hunt had discussions about not only racing but about life in general.

Personal life

Personal life and relationships

Early in their careers, Hunt and

were friends off the track. Lauda occasionally stayed at Hunt's flat when he had nowhere to sleep for the night. In his autobiography ''To Hell and Back'', Lauda described Hunt as an "open, honest to God pal." Lauda admired Hunt's burst of speed, while Hunt admired Lauda's capacity for analysis and rigour. In the spring of 1974, Hunt moved to Spain on the advice of the International Management Group. Whilst living there as a tax exile, Hunt was the neighbour of

, and they also came to be very good friends, with Hunt giving Scheckter the nickname Fletcher after the crash-prone bird in the book ''

Jonathan Livingston Seagull ''Jonathan Livingston Seagull'', written by American author Richard Bach and illustrated with black-and-white photographs shot by Russell Munson, is a fable in novella form about a seagull who is trying to learn about life and flight, and a homi ...

''. Another close friend was

. Peterson was a quiet and shy man, whilst Hunt was the opposite, but their contrasting personalities made them very close off the track. It was Hunt who discovered

Gilles Villeneuve Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve () (January 18, 1950 – May 8, 1982) was a Canadian racing driver, who spent six years in Grand Prix motor racing with Ferrari, winning six races and widespread acclaim for his performances. An enthusiast of ...

, whom he met after being soundly beaten by him in a

race in 1976. Hunt then arranged for the young Canadian to make his Grand Prix debut with McLaren in 1977. Hunt was involved in a relationship with Taormina Rieck (known as Ping by her friends) from the age of 15. Rieck separated from Hunt in May 1971, which left Hunt not seeing his family or friends for long periods of time. Hunt met his first wife,

Suzy Miller Susan Miller (married name Susan Hunt) (born 19 May 1949) is a British model, actress, dancer, and choreographer. She has acted in several films such as ''Twenty Nine'' (1969) and ''The Wild Geese'' (1978). Miller gained notoriety for being marr ...

, in 1974 in Spain. A few weeks after their initial meeting, he proposed. The couple married on 18 October 1974 at the

Brompton Oratory Brompton Oratory is a large neo-classical Roman Catholic church in the Knightsbridge area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. Its full name is the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as named in its Grade II* archite ...

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

. By the end of 1975, Suzy had left Hunt for the actor

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

. In 1982, Hunt moved to

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

. In September that year, he met his second wife, Sarah Lomax, while she was on a holiday in Spain with friends. Hunt started dating Lomax when she arrived back in Britain, and they dated throughout the winter. Hunt and Lomax were married on 17 December 1983 in

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

, Wiltshire. Hunt arrived late for the service, with proceedings delayed further when his brother Peter went to a shop to purchase a tie for him. The marriage resulted in two children, Tom and Freddie, the latter of whom is also a racing driver. On a visit to

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

, Hunt was arrested for an assault, which was witnessed by two police officers, and was released on bail after two hours with the charges against him later being dropped. Hunt and Lomax separated in October 1988 but continued to live together for the best interests of their children. They were divorced in November 1989 on the grounds of adultery committed by Hunt. Hunt met Helen Dyson in the winter of 1989 in a restaurant in

, where she worked as a waitress. Dyson was 18 years Hunt's junior and worried about her parents' reactions to him. Hunt kept the relationship secret from friends. The relationship brought new happiness to Hunt's life, among other factors which included his clean health, his bicycle, his casual approach to dress, his two sons and his

Austin A35 The Austin A35 is a small family car that was sold by Austin from 1956 until 1968. About 280,897 A35s of all types were produced. Design Introduced in 1956, it replaced the highly successful Austin A30. The name reflected the larger and more ...

van. The day before he died, Hunt proposed to Dyson via telephone.

Death

Hunt died in his sleep on the morning of 15 June 1993 of a heart attack at his home in

. He was 45 years old. At his funeral service, the pallbearers included his father Wallis, his brothers Tim, Peter and David, and his friend Anthony 'Bubbles' Horsley. They carried the coffin out of the church and into the hearse, which drove two miles to

Putney Vale Crematorium Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium in southwest London is located in Putney Vale, surrounded by Putney Heath and Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park. It is located within of parkland. The cemetery was opened in 1891 and the crematorium in 1938. ...

, where he was cremated. After the service, most of the mourners went to Peter Hunt's home to open a 1922

claret Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...

, the year of Wallis Hunt's birth. The claret had been given to him by James on his 60th birthday in 1982.

Legacy

Hunt at the 1976 Dutch Grand Prix Hunt was known as a fast driver with an aggressive, tail-happy driving style, but one prone to spectacular accidents, hence his nickname of ''Hunt the Shunt''. In reality, while Hunt was not necessarily any more accident-prone than his rivals in the lower formulae, the rhyme stuck and stayed with him. In the book ''James Hunt: The Biography'', John Hogan said of Hunt: "James was the only driver I've ever seen who had the vaguest idea about what it actually takes to be a racing driver." Niki Lauda stated that "We were big rivals, especially at the end of the

976 Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after re ...

season, but I respected him because you could drive next to him—2 centimetres, wheel-by-wheel, for 300 kilometres or more—and nothing would happen. He was a real top driver at the time." After winning the world championship in 1976, Hunt inspired many teenagers to take up motor racing, and he was retained by Marlboro to give guidance and support to up and coming drivers in the lower formulae. In early 2007, Formula One driver and 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen entered and won a

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

race in his native Finland under the name James Hunt. Räikkönen has openly admired the lifestyles of 1970s race car drivers such as Hunt.Benson, Andre
"Raikkonen the playboy king".
''

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

'', 21 October 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2007. Hunt's name was lent to the James Hunt Racing Centre in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

when it opened in 1990. A Celebration of the Life of James Hunt was held on 29 September 1993 at

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, United Kingdom. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. T ...

. The service was attended by 600 people and conducted by Reverend Andrew Studdert-Kennedy. The service included readings from Wallis and Sue Hunt from chapter 3 of the Book of

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes (; hbo, קֹהֶלֶת, Qōheleṯ, grc, Ἐκκλησιαστής, Ekklēsiastēs) is one of the Ketuvim ("Writings") of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly use ...

, and Hunt's sister Sally Jones read

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...

's poem 'Jim'.

Innes Ireland Lieutenant Robert McGregor Innes Ireland (12 June 1930 – 22 October 1993), was a British military officer, engineer, and motor racing driver, with 1 Championship and 8 non-Championship Formula 1 race victories, and several sports car wins incl ...

read

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

's poem ' If' and Helen Dyson read

Psalm 84 Psalm 84 is the 84th psalm of the Book of Psalms. The Book of Psalms forms part of the ''Ketuvim'' section of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly different numbering system of the Greek Septuagint version o ...

. Nigel Davison, Director of Music and Master in charge of running Wellington College, prefaced the second reading. On 29 January 2014, James Hunt was inducted into the Motor Sport Hall of Fame.

Helmet

Hunt's helmet featured his name in bold letters along with blue, yellow and red stripes on both sides and room for the sponsor Goodyear, all set on a black background. Additionally, the blue, yellow and red bands resemble his Wellington College school colours. During his comeback year to Formula One in 2012, 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen sported a James Hunt painted helmet during the

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...

. Räikkönen repeated the tribute at the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix.

In popular culture

The 1976 F1 battle between

and James Hunt was dramatised in the 2013 film '' Rush'', in which Hunt was played by

Chris Hemsworth Christopher Hemsworth (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor. He rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series ''Home and Away'' (2004–2007) before beginning a film career in Hollywood. In the Marvel Cinemat ...

. In the film, Lauda said of Hunt's death, "When I heard he'd died aged 45 of a heart attack I wasn't surprised, I was just sad." He also said that Hunt was one of the very few people he liked, a smaller number he respected and the only one he had envied.Niki Lauda on James Hunt
Graham Bensinger, 11 October 2017.

Racing record

Career summary

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) * Hunt was initially disqualified due to his car being deemed illegal, but later reinstated after McLaren successfully appealed the decision.

Formula One non-championship results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

Notes Citations Bibliography * Chimits, Xavier, Bernard Cahier and Paul-Henri Cahier
''Grand Prix Racers: Portraits of Speed''.
St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, 2008. . * Donaldson, Gerald
''James Hunt: The Biography''.
London:

Virgin Books Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing arm ...

, 1994. . * McDonough, Ed
''Gulf-Mirage 1967 to 1982''.
Dorchester, UK: Veloce, 2012. . * Rosamond, John. ''Save The Triumph Bonneville: The Inside Story Of The Meriden Workers' Co-Op''. Dorchester, UK: Veloce, 2009. . * Rubython, Tom. ''In the Name of Glory: 1976, The Greatest Ever Sporting Duel''. London: The Myrtle Press, 2011. . * Rubython, Tom. ''Rush to Glory: Formula 1 Racing's Greatest Rivalry''. London: The Myrtle Press, 2013. . * Rubython, Tom
''Shunt: The Story of James Hunt.''
London: The Myrtle Press, 2010. . * Young, Eoin and James Hunt
''James Hunt: Against All Odds.''
London: Dutton, 1978. .

External links

*
James Hunt appreciation websiteJames Hunt statisticsVideo of James Hunt just after he won the 1976 British Grand Prix
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, James 1947 births 1993 deaths BBC sports presenters and reporters BRDC Gold Star winners British Formula Three Championship drivers Burials at Putney Vale Cemetery English Formula One drivers English racing drivers European Formula Two Championship drivers Formula One World Drivers' Champions Formula One race winners Grovewood Award winners Hesketh Formula One drivers International Race of Champions drivers McLaren Formula One drivers Motorsport announcers People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire People from Sutton, London Sports commentators Wolf Formula One drivers Deaths from coronary artery disease