James Hunt

Interesting facts

The 'Hunt the Shunt' nickname owed more to rhyme than reality - statistically he crashed no more than his rivals. The chaotic 1976 season saw him disqualified at the Spanish GP (reinstated on appeal) and stripped of his home win at Brands Hatch after a Ferrari protest. At the sodden Fuji finale he battled a puncture and confused pit signals, yet still crossed the line third, enough to beat Lauda by a single point. Off track, Hunt and Lauda were genuinely close; Lauda later said Hunt was the only driver he ever envied. After retiring he became Murray Walker's BBC co-commentator, the pair sharing one microphone and occasionally wrestling over it live on air. He refused to let his commentary be broadcast in apartheid-era South Africa and donated the resulting fee to anti-apartheid groups. Ronnie Peterson's death at Monza in 1978 hit him hard; he wrongly blamed Riccardo Patrese for years, a trauma that fed into his early retirement. On the eve of his death he proposed by phone to girlfriend Helen Dyson; he died of a heart attack the next day, aged 45. James Hunt made his Formula 1 debut in 1973 and raced until 1979, 7 seasons in total as a British driver. He won the World Championship once, in 1976. He scored a total of 179 championship points over his career.