James Hunt

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James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – June 1993) was a British racing driver who won the Formula One World Championship in 1976.

Hunt, who retired from racing in 1979, became a media commentator and businessman. Hunt began his racing career in touring car racing and soon joined Formula Three, where he attracted the attention of the Hesketh Racing team and soon came under their wing.

Hunt's often impulsive and action-packed adventures on track earned him the nickname "Hunt the Shunt" (shunt, a British motor-racing term, means "crash" in the UK).

Hunt began racing in Formula One in 1973, driving a March 731 owned by the Hesketh Racing team.

He returned to win for Hesketh, in both World Championship and non-championship races, before joining the McLaren squad at the end of 1975.

Hunt won the 1976 World Drivers' Championship in his first year with McLaren, but with less success in his second year with the team before moving to the Wolf team in early 1979.

Hunt retired from racing halfway through the 1979 season after a string of races in which he failed to finish. Since retiring from motor racing, he began working as a Grand Prix analyst for the BBC.

He died as a result of a heart attack at the age of 45.

Early life

Hunt was born in Belmont, Surrey, the second child of Wallis Glynn Gunthorpe Hunt (1922–2001), a stockbroker, and Susan (Sue) Noel Wentworth (née Davis) Hunt. Sally, three younger brothers, Peter, Timothy, and David, as well as Georgina, his younger sister. Wallis Hunt was descended on his mother's side from Sir William Jackson, the industrialist and politician, 1st Baronet. Hunt's family lived in a Cheam, Surrey, apartment until he was 11 years old, and then to a larger house in Belmont. He attended Westerleigh Preparatory School, St Leonards-on-Sea Sussex, and then Wellington College.

When visiting a family holiday in Pembrokeshire, Wales, Hunt first learned to drive on a tractor, but the farm's owner was concerned about changing gears because he didn't have the right equipment. Hunt passed his driving exam a week after his seventeenth birthday, a point at which he said his life "really began." In 1965, he began skiing in Scotland and made plans for more ski trips. He went to the home of Chris Ridge, his tennis doubles partner, before his eighteenth birthday. Ridge's brother, who competed Minis, was preparing his car for a Silverstone run this weekend. Hunt watched the race, which reignited his obsession with motor racing.

Personal life

Hunt and Niki Lauda were friends early in their careers, and they were never far apart. Lauda stayed at Hunt's apartment when he had nowhere to sleep for the night. Lauda's autobiography To Hell and Back described Hunt as a "open, honest to God pal." Hunt lauded Hunt's fury, while Hunt lauded Lauda's ability for analysis and rigour. Hunt moved to Spain on the International Management Group's recommendation in the spring of 1974. Hunt was the neighbor of Jody Scheckter, and the two became good friends, with Hunt giving Scheckter the name Fletcher after the crash-prone bird in Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Ronnie Peterson, another close friend, was a close associate. Peterson was quiet and shy, while Hunt was the opposite, but their contrasting personalities kept them well off track. It was Hunt who found Gilles Villeneuve, whom he encountered after being notably defeated by him in a Formula Atlantic race in 1976. Hunt then arranged for the young Canadian to make his Grand Prix debut with McLaren in 1977.

From the age of 15, Hunt was involved in a friendship with Taormina Rieck (known as Ping by her friends). Rieck retired from Hunt in May 1971, leaving Hunt without seeing his family or friends for long stretches of time. Suzy Miller, Hunt's first wife, was born in 1974 in Spain. He suggested a few weeks after their initial meeting. The couple married at the Brompton Oratory in Knightsbridge on October 18, 1974. Suzy had left Hunt for actor Richard Burton by the end of 1975.

Hunt went to Wimbledon in 1982. He met his second wife, Sarah Lomax, while on a holiday in Spain with friends in September. When Hunt returned to the United Kingdom, she started dating Lomax, and they continued dating during the winter. Hunt and Lomax were married in Marlborough, Wiltshire, on December 17th. Hunt arrived late for the service, with charges being delayed even more when his brother Peter went to a store to buy a tie for him. Tom and Freddie, the latter of whom is also a racing champion, were born as a result of the marriage.

Hunt was arrested for an assault that was witnessed by two police officers on a trip to Doncaster and released on bail after two hours despite the charges against him being dropped later. Hunt and Lomax came together in October 1988 but they continued to work together for their children's best interests. They were divorced in November 1989 on suspicion of adultery committed by Hunt.

Hunt first met Helen Dyson in 1989 in a restaurant in Wimbledon, where she worked as a waitress. Dyson, a child of 18 years Hunt's senior, was worried about her parents' reactions to him. Hunt kept the information private from family members. Hunt's life brought new joy to his family, as well as his clean and safe environment, his bicycle, his casual approach to dressing, his two sons, and his Austin A35 van. Hunt suggested Dyson by telephone the day before he died.

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Early career

Hunt's racing career began in a racing Mini. He first tried running at the Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk, but race scrutineers barred him from participating, causing Hunt and his teammate, Justin Fry, to be upset. Hunt later obtained the necessary funds from his work as a trainee manager of a telephone company in order to attend three events. Because of the irregularities and changes that were happening to the cars they were using, Fry was forced to part company with the staff.

In 1968, Hunt joined Formula Ford. He drove a Russell-Alexis Mark 14 vehicle that was purchased through a hire-purchase program. Hunt had lost 15 hp from an incorrect ignition setting in his first run at Snetterton, but he finished fifth in his first race. Hunt won his first match at Lydden Hill and also set the lap record on the Brands Hatch short circuit.

Hunt raced in Formula Three in 1969 with a budget negotiated by Gowrings of Reading, who purchased a Merlyn Mark 11A. In the last two races of 1968, the gowrings were supposed to race the car. Hunt won several races and reached regular top-place finishes, prompting the British Guild of Motor Writing Writers to award him the Grovewood Award as one of the three drivers judged to have promising careers.

Hunt was implicated in a turbulent confrontation with Dave Morgan during a contest for second place in the Formula Three Daily Express Trophy championship at Crystal Palace on October 3, 1970. 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 competition. Hunt's car came to a halt in the middle of the track, without two wheels. Hunt escaped, raced over to Morgan and screamed him to the ground, causing him serious official disapproving. Both men were summoned by the RAC, and after collecting evidence from other pilots, Hunt was suspended by a tribunal, but Morgan was allowed to continue to Formula Atlantic in 1971. To obtain Coca-Cola sponsorship, Hunt talked later with John Hogan and racing driver Gerry Birrell.

Hunt's career in the Works March group started in 1972. His first run at Mallory Park ended third, but he was told by race officials that he had been barred from the results because his engine was deemed to be out of the rules. The car, on the other hand, passed testing at the next two races at Brands Hatch. Hunt came in third and fifth place respectively in these races. At Oulton Park, he collided with two cars but came third at Mallory Park, but after a long match with Roger Williamson, he came third. The cars did not turn up at Zandvoort, but Hunt nevertheless attended the competition as a spectator.

The team had revealed that Jochen Mass had been suspended from the STP-March Formula 3 team in May 1972 and that Jochen Mass had been promoted to it. When Hunt tried to reach March, he was unable to get a response from his employers. Hunt hired Chris Marshall, his former team boss, after discovering that a spare vehicle was on hand. This was the start of a period of mechanical failures in a string. Hunt opted to race in Monaco against March director Max Mosley's explicit instructions to do so in a March from a different team. After Hunt's own March had broken down and then been struck by another competitor in a practice lap, he had evacuated this.

Formula One career

Hesketh acquired a March 731 chassis, which was created by Harvey Postlethwaite. The team was not initially considered seriously by rivals, who saw the Hesketh team as party goers reveling in Formula One's glamour. However, the Hesketh March was much more competitive than the works March cars, and their best result was second place in the 1973 United States Grand Prix. Hunt also participated in sports car racing at the 1973 Kyalami Nine Hours, riding a Mirage M6 with Derek Bell, finishing second.

Hunt was awarded the Campbell Trophy from the Royal Academy after the season came to an end, recognizing his achievements in Formula One as the best by a British driver.

Hesketh Racing built the Hesketh 308, but the accompanying V12 engine never arrived for the 1974 season. Hunt's first test of the car arrived at Silverstone and discovered it was more stable than its predecessor, the March 731. Hunt was paid £15,000 per year. The Hesketh team captivated the public imagination as a vehicle without sponsor branding, a teddy-bear badge, and a devil-may-care team culture, deceitful engineers. Hunt qualified fifth and led briefly before Ronnie Peterson overtook him for second position before Hunt was forced to cancel due to engine failure. Hunt resigned from fifth place in South Africa after a cracked driveshaft. Hunt's season highlight was his triumph at the BRDC International Trophy non-championship race in Silverstone, defeating the majority of the regular F1 field.

Hunt finished sixth in Brazil and then retired due to an engine failure in South Africa. Hunt led the first six laps in Spain before colliding with a barrier in Monaco that had been used for retirement. He had two more retirements in Belgium and Sweden, both of which were due to mechanical failures. In the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, Hunt's first victory came. He finished fourth in the Championship this year, but Lord Hesketh had run out of money and couldn't find a sponsor for his team. Hunt had little time left before the 1976 season, but Emerson Fittipaldi left McLaren and joined his brother's Copersuttipaldi outfit. Hunt was the team's first pick without other top drivers available when the team's leadership decided on a $200,000 contract for the next season.

The season was one of the most dramatic and turbulent on record. Although Hunt's appearances in the Hesketh had drew a lot of praise, there was also some doubt about whether he would be able to withstand a championship challenge. He dispelled many doubters at the first race in Brazil, where he landed pole position in the final minutes of qualifying. He now works McLaren M23. He'll lead the McLaren M23 to six Grands Prix victories over the course of the year, but with superior consistency, reigning world champion, and strong rival Niki Lauda, he had taken out a significant lead in the first few races of the season. Hunt's first race victory of 1976, in the Spanish Grand Prix's fourth race of the season, resulted in disqualification for driving a vehicle that was found to be 1.8 cm too wide. The victory was later restored on appeal, but it set the tone for an extremely turbulent season. Hunt was involved in a first corner collision with Lauda on the first lap, resulting in the race being suspended and restarted. Hunt first tried to borrow a spare car, but this was disallowed, and the original race car was rebuilt, eventually winning the revived battle. After Ferrari's assertion that Hunt was not legally allowed to restart the competition, a decision was reversed on Hunt's victory on September 24th.

At the next round, the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, Lauda sustained near-fatal injuries in an accident. Hunt ruled the revived Nürburgring contest, gaining a large advantage and remaining unchallenged to the chequered flag.

Lauda's injury kept him out of the following two races, allowing Hunt to close the gap in the championship chase. Hunt won by Zandvoort on the 12th lap over Ronnie Peterson who had to fight back pressure from John Watson to win. Lauda's miraculous recovery from his Nürburgring crash was the focus of the Italian Grand Prix. The Texaco fuel McLaren were used on a circuit that should have suited Hunt's car, and although obviously legal, their cars, and those of the Penske team were found to have a higher octane content than permitted. Both teams were forced to start from the back of the grid later this year. Hunt spun off as he tried to make his way up the field, while a returning Lauda finished fourth. Hunt found out that he had been disqualified from the British Grand Prix and Lauda had been crowned champion and was awarded three points in the next round in Canada. A tumultuous Hunt took a long route and came home, winning on the exciting Mosport Park circuit. Hunt, who was in the United States' most unpredictable Watkins Glen track, started from pole and took the lead after a close match with Jody Scheckter. The final round in Japan was arranged here. Hunt's late season charge dropped him to just three points behind Lauda. Hunt had to finish third (4-points) or higher to overtake Lauda in the championship, despite the drop in points for the top six finishers. To stay ahead, Lauda had to earn two points less than Hunt, or higher. Alastair Caldwell, the McLaren team's manager, exploited the opportunity to recruit the Fuji circuit – a track that will host the first Grand Prix and thus unknown to any of the teams – for an exclusive McLaren test. The gearbox was confiscated after a few laps, bringing the test to a premature conclusion, but the team had the benefit of acclimatizing themselves to the new circuit. The race itself was submerged in torrentia. Lauda resigned early in the game, unable to blink due to facial burns from his accident in Germany. Hunt, who was leading the majority of the race, suffered a puncture, postponed pitstop, and then received mixed pit signals from his team. However, he managed to finish third, scoring four points, enough for him to win the World Championship by a single point. Hunt was the last British Formula One champion until Nigel Mansell won the 1992 championship for Williams, according to Nigel Mansell. He was, in fact, one of the lowest F1 World Champions ever, having signed for $200,000 – a scenario similar to that of 1982 champion Ke Rosberg.

Hunt received the Tarmac Trophy, along with two cheques for £2000 and £500 respectively, a magnum of champagne, and other accolades before 1977. The Duke of Kent made the presentation. After the event, Hunt delivered a "suitably gracious and glamorous" address, Hunt delivered an acceptance address. Hunt's attending the occasion dressed in jeans, T-shirt, and a decrepit windbreaker, the media was dismissive of him.

Hunt was confronted by customs agents who searched his luggage before the South African Grand Prix, finding no illicit items in the case except a journal that contravened South Africa's stringent obscenity regulations. Hunt was later released and tested in Kyalami, where his McLaren M26 suffered a loose brake caliper that cut a hole in one of the tyres. He recovered and moved the vehicle to a pole position. Hunt was involved in a collision with Jody Schekter's Wolf and another with Patrick Depailler's Tyrrell, but he finished third, despite placing third.

Hunt's season didn't begin well. The McLaren M26 was unbalanced in the early part of the season, when Niki Lauda, Mario Andretti, and Jody Scheckter took the lead in the Drivers' Championship. Hunt and the McLaren M26 were quicker than any other competitor team other than Mario Andretti and the Lotus 78, by the end of the year. Hunt won in Silverstone after following the Brabham of John Watson for 25 laps. He went on to win at Watkins Glen. Hunt retired after a collision with teammate Jochen Masse and was fined $2000 for walking back to the pit lane in a "unsafe manner." Hunt won the race in Fuji, but did not attend the podium ceremony, resulting in a fine of $20,000. In the World Drivers' Championship, he came in fifth place.

Hunt had aspired to win a second world championship this season, but he lost only eight world championship points this season. Lotus' Lotus 79 vehicle had achieved good ground effect aerodynamics, but McLaren's responses were slow to respond. Hunt's enthusiasm was low midway through the season when the M26 was introduced as a ground effect vehicle, but it didn't work, and without a test driver to solve the vehicle's difficulties. Patrick Tambay, the seasoned new teammate, even disqualified Hunt at one race. Hunt was disqualified in Germany for taking a shortcut to prevent a tyre change.

Ronnie Peterson's death in the 1978 Italian Grand Prix was also affecting Hunting. A major accident occurred in the first corner at the start of the race. Peterson's Lotus was pushed into the walls and burst into fire. Hunt rescued Peterson from the car with Patrick Depailler and Clay Regazzoni, but Peterson died in hospital one day later. Hunt mourned his friend's death and sulfully blamed Riccardo Patrese for the tragedy for years. Patton did not touch Hunt or Peterson's cars, nor did he order any other vehicle to do so, according to video evidence of the tragedy. Hunt suspected it was Patrese's muscling past that caused the McLaren and Lotus to touch, but Patrese maintains that he was already well ahead of the pair long before the incident occurred.

Hunt had decided to leave the McLaren team in 1979. Despite his poor season in 1978, he was still in high demand. Harvey Postlethwaite persuaded Hunt to join Walter Wolf Racing, a one-car team where he would have found a Hesketh-style environment that was similar to his first encounter. In what would be his last, and ultimately short, Formula One season, he had aspired to win races and compete for the world championship. Hunt lost any interest in racing shortly after. Hunting the Ferrari 312T4 was a thrill as Jody Scheckter captured the World Driver's Championship that year.

He found the car was impossible to control at first race in Argentina, and on a fast lap, the front wing became detached, striking his helmet. Hunt retired due to an electrical malfunction during the race. He resigned on lap 6 in Brazil due to instability under brake pedal control failure due to a loose steering rack. The brakes on his vehicle failed during qualifying in South Africa. He didn't collide with the wall, but he finished 8th in the overall standings, but only 8th. After 26 laps, he retired at the Spanish Grand Prix. A new Wolf WR8 was raced at Zolder, but Hunt was unable to recover from the crash, but it wasn't quite enough to get back to the track. Hunt, who had failed to finish the 1979 Monaco Grand Prix, a sport where six years ago, was unveiled, released a statement to the world on June 8, 1979, citing his retirement from F1 competition and replacing him with future world champion Keke Rosberg. Despite his retirement, Jack Marlboro and Olympus continued to market his personal sponsors. Hunt had been badly affected by the Ronnie Peterson tragedy in Monza a year before, but his heart was no longer involved, according to Peter Warr. Hunt recalled telling him that if he nudged the car up against the wall and give it a squirt of throttle in second gear, it would crack a driveshaft. "With a broken driveshaft, James stopped up the hill at Rosie's bar four laps into the series." Then he told us he was going to be "retired."

Later career (1979–1993)

Hunt was invited by Jonathan Martin, the head of BBC television entertainment, to serve as a television commentator alongside Murray Walker on BBC2 Formula One's Grand Prix. Hunt accepted the role and served for thirteen years until his death after a guest commentary at the 1979 British Grand Prix. Hunt placed his plaster-cast leg into Walker's lap during his first live broadcast at the 1980 Monaco Grand Prix, consuming two bottles of wine during the broadcast. Hunt went straight into the booth minutes before a race began, which worried Martin, who said Hunt was "a guy who lived on adrenaline."

To avoid talking over each other, the developers only gave Walker and Hunt one microphone in the commentary booth. On one occasion, Hunt wanted the microphone and grabbed Walker by the collar, with Walker holding his fist near to Hunt. Hunt pulled the microphone cord and cracked it like a whip, yanking the microphone out of Walker's hand on another occasion. He received a new fanbase thanks to his research and dry sense of humor. René Arnoux's comments that non-turbo cars did not match the Frenchman's driving abilities were often dismissive, particularly during the BBC's live broadcast of the 1989 Monaco Grand Prix. He had a reputation for speaking out against back-markers who refused to speak out against race kings.

Andrea de Cesaris, Philippe Alliot, Jean-Pierre Jarier, and Riccardo Patrese were among Hunt's other notable targets beyond Arnoux. During live broadcasts, Hunt chastised Jean-Pierre Jarier for blocking leaders, calling him "pig ignorant," a "French wally," and having a "mental age of ten." Hunt also stated that Jarier should be barred from racing "for being himself."

Hunt did not want his commentaries to be broadcast in South Africa during the apartheid years, but when he could not avoid this happening, he charged black-led organisations working to overthrowrow apartheid.

In newspaper columns that were distributed in The Independent and elsewhere, as well as in magazines, Hunt also wrote about Grand Prix racing.

Hunt came close to a comeback with McLaren at the United States Grand Prix West in 1980, a bid for $1 million for the sport. This opportunity came after regular driver Alain Prost fractured his wrist during practice for the previous round in South Africa, and the French rookie was not physically fit to drive at Long Beach. While Hunt broke his leg while skiing, the team's top sponsor, Marlboro, lost half the figure. Hunt, originally owned by Bernie Ecclestone, owner of the Brabham team, paid Hunt a salary of £2.6 million per year but Hunt denied him. Hunt was in financial trouble in 1990 as a result of a £180,000 investment in Lloyd's of London and a comeback for the Williams family. He had tried on the Paul Ricard Circuit a few months before and thought he'd be able to test modern cars and was a few seconds behind schedule but was optimistic that he'd be physically fit. Hunt tried to convince John Hogan, VP Marketing of Philip Morris Europe, to support the eventual return of the back-and-forth line and provide him with a bank statement as proof of being indebted.

Hunt appeared in the 1979 British silent comedy The Plank, as well as co-starring Fred Emney in a Texaco Havoline TV commercial. He made a posthumous appearance on ITV's Police Camera Action! In 2000, a special Crash Test Racers special was released; this was one of many interviews to be broadcast posthumously. Hunt also participated in an exhibition run to celebrate the opening of the new Nürburgring in May 1984. Despite not having no license to ride a motorcycle, he accepted, rather than his usual price, Triumph Bonneville's then-new 1980 electric start, he had contracted to promote the ailing Triumph motorcycle workers' co-operative. With journalistic humour, he appeared at the press launch with his foot in plaster.

John Hogan was recruited by Marlboro as an advisor and mentor, educating drivers on driving and racing tactics. Mika Häkkinen and Hunt had discussions about not just racing but also about life in general.

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