James Hunt

James Hunt was a British Formula One driver who later became an F1 commentator alongside Murray Walker. He competed in Formula One from 1973 to 1979 and is best remembered for winning the 1976 Drivers’ Championship with McLaren. Hunt, often referred to as “The Shunt” due to his aggressive driving style, was known for both his on-track brilliance and his playboy lifestyle off it.

Nationality	British
Born	James Simon Wallis Hunt 29 August 1947 Belmont, Surrey, England
Died	15 June 1993 (aged 45) Wimbledon, London, England

Hunt began his racing career in touring cars before moving up to Formula Three in 1969, where his daring driving caught the eye of Lord Hesketh, founder of Hesketh Racing. He joined Hesketh in 1973, making his Formula One debut in a March 731 chassis at the 1973 Monaco Grand Prix. Hunt quickly impressed by securing podium finishes in his rookie season at the Dutch and United States Grands Prix. In 1974, Hesketh introduced their own 308 chassis, which Hunt used to score multiple podiums and win the non-championship BRDC International Trophy. In 1975, he claimed his first Grand Prix victory at the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix, which remains one of the best underdog triumphs in F1 history.

Despite his success, Hesketh Racing couldn’t secure sponsorship for the following season, prompting Hunt to join McLaren in 1976, where he won a thrilling title battle with Niki Lauda; Hunt won the World Championship by a single point. The following year, he won more races but finished fifth overall due to mechanical issues. After a winless 1978 season, Hunt moved to Wolf Racing in 1979 but retired following the 1979 Monaco Grand Prix. His career totals included 10 race wins, 14 pole positions, eight fastest laps, and 23 podium finishes in Formula One.

In 1980, Hunt considered a comeback with McLaren at the 1980 United States Grand Prix West, asking for $1 million, but negotiations fell through after he broke his leg skiing. In 1982, he turned down a £2.6 million offer from Brabham. Facing financial difficulties in 1990, Hunt briefly entertained a return with Williams, even testing at the Paul Ricard Circuit, but he was off the pace. Despite seeking support from Philip Morris, the comeback ultimately did not materialise.

After retiring from racing, Hunt became a well-known commentator for the BBC and also mentored future two-time World Champion Mika Hakkinen through his association with Marlboro. Hunt passed away at the age of 45 from a heart attack at his home in Wimbledon.

James Hunt Formula One World Championship career

F1 Career	1973–1979
Teams	Hesketh, McLaren, Wolf
Entries	93 (92 starts)
Championships	1 (1976)
Wins	10
Podiums	23
Career points	179
Pole positions	14
Fastest laps	8
First entry	1973 Monaco Grand Prix
First win	1975 Dutch Grand Prix
Last win	1977 Japanese Grand Prix
Last entry	1979 Monaco Grand Prix

James Hunt Teammates

6 Teammates	Involvement	First Year	Last Year
Ian Scheckter	1	1974
Brett Lunger	3	1975
Jochen Mass	33	1976	1977
Gilles Villeneuve	1	1977
Bruno Giacomelli	6	1977	1978
Patrick Tambay	16	1978

Race Wins

Win Number	Grand Prix
1	1975 Dutch Grand Prix
2	1976 Spanish Grand Prix
3	1976 French Grand Prix
4	1976 German Grand Prix
5	1976 Dutch Grand Prix
6	1976 Canadian Grand Prix
7	1976 United States Grand Prix
8	1977 British Grand Prix
9	1977 United States Grand Prix
10	1977 Japanese Grand Prix

Complete Formula One Results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
1973	Hesketh Racing	March 731	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	BEL	MON 9	SWE	FRA 6	GBR 4	NED 3	GER	AUT Ret	ITA DNS	CAN 7	USA 2			8th	14
1974	Hesketh Racing	March 731	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG Ret	BRA 9																8th	15
		Hesketh 308	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8			RSA Ret	ESP 10	BEL Ret	MON Ret	SWE 3	NED Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret	AUT 3	ITA Ret	CAN 4	USA 3
1975	Hesketh Racing	Hesketh 308B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG 2	BRA 6	RSA Ret	ESP Ret	MON Ret	BEL Ret	SWE Ret	NED 1	FRA 2	GBR 4	GER Ret	AUT 2						4th	33
		Hesketh 308C	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8													ITA 5	USA 4
1976	Marlboro Team McLaren	McLaren M23	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	BRA Ret	RSA 2	USW Ret	ESP 1*	BEL Ret	MON Ret	SWE 5	FRA 1	GBR DSQ	GER 1	AUT 4	NED 1	ITA Ret	CAN 1	USA 1	JPN 3		1st	69
1977	Marlboro Team McLaren	McLaren M23	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG Ret	BRA 2	RSA 4	USW 7		MON Ret												5th	40
		McLaren M26	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8					ESP Ret		BEL 7	SWE 12	FRA 3	GBR 1	GER Ret	AUT Ret	NED Ret	ITA Ret	USA 1	CAN Ret	JPN 1
1978	Marlboro Team McLaren	McLaren M26	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG 4	BRA Ret	RSA Ret	USW Ret	MON Ret	BEL Ret	ESP 6	SWE 8	FRA 3	GBR Ret	GER DSQ	AUT Ret	NED 10	ITA Ret	USA 7	CAN Ret		13th	8
1979	Olympus Cameras Wolf Racing	Wolf WR7	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG Ret	BRA Ret	RSA 8		ESP Ret		MON Ret	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	USA			NC	0
		Wolf WR8	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8				USW Ret		BEL Ret

Sources:

1. James Hunt. Wikipedia.com