James Hunt
James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993)[1] was a British racing driver who won the Formula One World Championship in 1976. After retiring from racing in 1979, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman until his death.
This article is about the British racing driver. For other people with the same name, see James Hunt (disambiguation).Born
29 August 1947
Belmont, Surrey, England
15 June 1993 (aged 45)
Wimbledon, London, England
British
93 (92 starts)
1 (1976)
10
23
179
14
8
Beginning his racing career in touring car racing, Hunt progressed into Formula Three, where he attracted the attention of the Hesketh Racing 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 1973, driving a March 731 entered by the Hesketh Racing team. He went on to win for Hesketh, driving their own Hesketh 308 car, in both World Championship and non-championship races, before joining the McLaren team at the end of 1975. 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 team in early 1979. 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. He died from a heart attack when he was 45.[2]
Early life[edit]
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.[3] He had an elder sister, Sally, three younger brothers, Peter, Timothy and David, and one younger sister, Georgina.[4] Wallis Hunt was descended on his mother's side from the industrialist and politician Sir William Jackson, 1st Baronet.[5] Hunt's family lived in a flat in Cheam, Surrey, moved to Sutton when he was 11 and then to a larger home in Belmont.[6] He attended Westerleigh Preparatory School, St Leonards-on-Sea Sussex[7] and later Wellington College.[8]
Hunt first learned to drive on a tractor on a farm in Pembrokeshire, 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.[9] Hunt passed his driving test one week after his seventeenth birthday, at which point he said his life "really began".[10] 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.[11]
Early career[edit]
Mini racing[edit]
Hunt's racing career started off in a racing Mini. He first entered a race at the Snetterton Circuit 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.[12]
Formula Ford[edit]
Hunt graduated to Formula Ford in 1968. He drove a Russell-Alexis Mark 14 car bought through a hire-purchase 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 short circuit.[13]
Later career (1979–1993)[edit]
Commentary career[edit]
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 on the BBC 2 Formula One racing programme Grand Prix. After a guest commentary at the 1979 British Grand Prix, 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.[49][50] 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."[51]
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.[52] 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's comments that non-turbo cars did not suit the Frenchman's driving skills as "bullshit".[53] He also had a reputation for speaking out against back-markers who held up race leaders.[54]
Other than Arnoux, Hunt's other frequent targets included Andrea de Cesaris, Philippe Alliot, Jean-Pierre Jarier and Riccardo Patrese. 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.[55] Hunt further suggested that Jarier should be banned from racing "for being himself".[56][57][58]
Hunt did not want his commentaries broadcast in South Africa during the apartheid years but when he could not stop this from happening, he gave his fees to black-led groups working to overthrow apartheid.[59]
Hunt also commented on Grand Prix racing in newspaper columns which were published in The Independent and elsewhere, and in magazines.[60]
Attempted comebacks[edit]
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 broke his wrist during practice for the previous round in South Africa, 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, owner of the Brabham 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[61] and considered a comeback with the Williams team. He had tested on the Paul Ricard Circuit 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,[62] to support the possible comeback, and presented him with bank statement for proof of being indebted.[63]
Other projects[edit]
Hunt made a brief appearance in the 1979 British silent slapstick comedy The Plank, as well as co-starring with Fred Emney in a Texaco Havoline TV advertisement. He also made a posthumous appearance on ITV's Police Camera Action! 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.[64] Despite having no licence to ride a motorcycle, he accepted, instead of his usual fee, the then-new 1980 electric start Triumph Bonneville 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.[65]
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 and Hunt had discussions about not only racing but about life in general.[51]
Personal life[edit]
Early in their careers, Hunt and Niki Lauda 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.[66] In the spring of 1974, Hunt moved to Spain on the advice of the International Management Group.[67] Whilst living there as a tax exile, Hunt was the neighbour of Jody Scheckter, 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. Another close friend was Ronnie Peterson who 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, whom he met after being soundly beaten 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.
Hunt was involved in a relationship with Taormina Rieck (known as Ping by her friends) from the age of 15.[10] Rieck separated from Hunt in May 1971, which left Hunt not seeing his family or friends for long periods of time.[68]
Hunt met his first wife, Suzy Miller, in 1974 in Spain. A few weeks after their initial meeting, he proposed. The couple married on 18 October 1974 at the Brompton Oratory in Knightsbridge. By the end of 1975, Suzy had left Hunt for the actor Richard Burton.
In 1982, Hunt moved to Wimbledon.[69] 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, 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.[70] The marriage resulted in two children, Tom and Freddie, the latter of whom is also a racing driver.[71][72]
On a visit to Doncaster, 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.[73] 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.[74]
Hunt met Helen Dyson in the winter of 1989 in a restaurant in Wimbledon, 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 van.[60] The day before he died, Hunt proposed to Dyson via telephone.[75]
Death[edit]
Hunt died in his sleep on the morning of 15 June 1993 of a heart attack at his home in Wimbledon.[76] 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, where he was cremated. After the service, most of the mourners went to Peter Hunt's home to open a 1922 claret, the year of Wallis Hunt's birth. The claret had been given to him by James on his 60th birthday in 1982.[77]
Helmet[edit]
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.[82] Additionally, the blue, yellow and red bands resemble his Wellington College school colours.[83] 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.[84] Räikkönen repeated the tribute at the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix.[85]
In popular culture[edit]
The 1976 F1 battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt was dramatised in the 2013 film Rush, in which Hunt was played by Chris Hemsworth. 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.[86]