FULL THROTTLE
RACING LEGENDS
otoriously called ‘Hunt the
Shunt’ because of his early
career crashes, James Hunt
would later be remembered
for his panache on the track
and his debauchery off it. He
was quite the celebrity racer of his time as shown
in the 2013 film Rush, which was based on his
rivalry and friendship with Niki Lauda.
Hunt came from a privileged family, and was
into racket sports until the racing bug bit him at
the age of 18. He chased after his own passion,
going against his father’s wish that he became a
doctor, and racing mostly out of his own pock-
et—even though he crashed a lot due to lack of
proper equipment. But that never stopped Hunt
from racing regularly by 1969.
He started out racing a Mini and moved up to
Formula Ford, where one crash almost killed him
and left his car at the bottom of a lake; he only
survived because he could not afford a proper
seatbelt. By the time he graduated to Formula 3
from Formula 2 , he was getting much attention
not only from his no-backing-out racing attitude,
but also because of his erratic behavior, especially
when he was under Hesketh Racing. Life with
the team was all about endless parties, women,
and the first-class life. Hunt became known for
vomiting before races, having a ‘Sex—Breakfast
of Champions’ patch on his racing suit, and
urinating on the track.
With limited success in Formula 2 , Hesketh
Racing decided to move up to Formula 1 in
1973 , and Hunt made his debut on the top tier
of motorsports. The team was first criticized for
only participating for the glamour and simply
joyriding. But with two podium finishes that
same season, including one at the United States
Grand Prix—the team definitely had potential.
The podium finishes continued in 1974. The
next season, Hunt won the Dutch Grand Prix,
beating Lauda in a Ferrari. Sadly, difficulty struck
the team later that year and Hesketh Racing
eventually folded.
In 1976 , he transferred to McLaren and
immediately won the drivers’ title by just one
point over Lauda. Winning became a bore after
a while, however; his interest in racing started
to dwindle, and he left McLaren after the 1978
season. He moved to Wolf Racing, and retired
partway through the season after a string of
unfortunate DNFs.
Still, he loved the sport, so he signed up to
be an F 1 commentator with the BBC alongside
Murray Walker in 1979. His insights and unique
humor gained him respect among the sport’s
audience. Over the next 13 years, the show went
on until he suddenly died of a heart attack on
June 15 , 1993 , just one day after proposing to
his girlfriend.
James Hunt was a rock star in his own way.
Winning even a single F 1 championship is not an
easy feat—it takes passion, and that, along with
talent, was something he definitely had. He was
one hell of a joker, but he was the best at what he
chose to pursue.
British bravado
Living large and driving fast, James Hunt was a man who got
whatever he set his heart on, including the F1 drivers’ crown
N
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