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| James Hunt |
James Hunt
Born: 29 August 1947, Belmont, England
Died: 15 June 1993
Grand Prix Starts: 92
Grand Prix Victories: 10
Points Total: 179
World Champion: 1976
James Hunt's early forays into motor racing began with a humble Mini, moving on to Formula Ford and F3, signing for the March F3 team in 1972. Within a year he had departed to join forces with Lord Hesketh's maverick outfit and a step-up to F2...
Having made his F1 debut in 1973, Hunt finished second behind Ronnie Peterson in the final race of the year at Watkins Glen. This gave him a highly respectable eight place in the championship and the following season saw him match that performance, this time in the team's own car. In 1975 improvements to the car saw him finish fourth in the table, having beaten eventual champion Niki Lauda into second place at Zandvoort to score his maiden victory.
Hesketh's withdrawal from the GP circuit at the end of 1975 saw Hunt replacing Emerson Fittipaldi at McLaren. 1976 was a thrilling season, with Hunt and Ferrari's Niki Lauda battling for the crown to the finish. His first win for McLaren came in Spain, but at Silverstone his victory points were expunged following an infringement of the rules governing the car's dimensions. With Lauda out following his horrific accident at the Nurburgring, Hunt was back in contention, and he went into the final race, the Japanese GP, 3 points behind Lauda. Lauda withdrew in appalling weather conditions and Hunt went on to secure third place and the title.
Despite three more victories in 1977, McLaren was in decline, and by the following year Hunt appeared to lose motivation and enthusiasm. He quit mid-season in 1979 and went on to become a F1 TV commentator until his death from a heart attack in 1993.