James Hunt: Still missed, 30 years later

Today, June 15, it will have been 30 years since James Hunt died at his home in London, writes MIKE DOODSON.

He was 45 years old and his heart, stressed by heavy smoking and hard living, gave out on him. He had contested 92 GPs, won 10 of them and taken the 1976 World Championship title, in a ding-dong battle with Niki Lauda (above) which attracted global attention.

Hunt quit driving halfway through the 1979 season, for reasons which remain unclear.  He had been released by McLaren after a lacklustre 1978 campaign and had joined Walter Wolf’s team.  It didn’t work out.  

Retirement did not go well for our hero, as his official biography makes clear.  Among other setbacks, he bought a farm, which got flooded, and became a member at Loyds of London (insurance), investing in a number of syndicates which paid off for a few years but later crashed as a result of claims for storm damage in Europe. His own estimated losses were well into nine figures.

I had known James personally ever since his days in Formula Ford.  At a race meeting in France in 1970, for which he had crashed in qualifying and was unable to claim starting money, I discovered him in the press car park, stealing the petrol he needed to get home.

James Hunt in the McLaren M23 Ford leads Niki Lauda’s Ferrari 312T2 during the 1976 British GP at Brands Hatch.Photo by Rainer Schlegelmilch

I immediately contributed my expenses money, a gesture which would pay off when I was the only journalist who got a one-to-one interview with him immediately after he had won the ‘76 world title in dramatic fashion in Japan. I wish I still had that tape …

Starting in 1980, James had joined Murray Walker in the TV commentary box after the BBC had contracted to cover F1 full-time. 

His knowledge of our sport and his various useful contacts (he was also on the payroll of multi-sponsor Marlboro cigarettes) gave him a certain authority, although it was Walker who did the legwork in the paddock – and who understandably resented Hunt’s casual attitude.

I witnessed all this at first hand, because for 18 years I sat with the BBC’s feuding twosome, compiling the lap chart they required to keep up with race progress.

Sometimes Hunt wanted to leave even before the chequer flew. At one French GP, with the race order seemingly in place, he was saying his goodbyes when the leaders hit trouble on the last lap and neither of our ace commentators was looking at the screen, leaving a million viewers none the wiser.

Hunt would eventually sober up and even make his peace (sort of) with Walker. But he infuriated many with his strong opinions on a number of personalities whom he did not hesitate to vilify, among them the Italian driver Riccardo Patrese and Britain’s own Nigel Mansell, whom he regarded as a whinger.

Mike Woodson (centre) kept Murray Walker and James Hunt apart in the commentary box. Image: LAT Images

Needless to say, Hunt sometimes had to take as good as he got, as Murray Walker was happy to point out in his book: 

“My most dramatic experience with James occurred during our first time in Australia in 1985,” he wrote. “Channel 9 were making a maximum effort to impress their countrymen with Formula 1 down under and were doing a great job.

“For the qualifying session we were joined by David Hill, their top man, who was brilliant at his job and not slow to make his feelings known. There had been an instant lack of rapport between the very English James and the very Australian David, but everything went well until I handed the microphone to James who shrugged his shoulders, put it down and said, ‘I’ve got nothing to say.’

“David leant across and said, ‘Pick the f***ing thing up and say something!’

“Somewhat startled, James did so, and when the session finished he haughtily said to David, ‘I’d like a word with you. I’ve never been spoken to like that by anyone in the whole of my life and I don’t like it.’

“’I don’t give a f**k what you like,’ said David. ‘As far as I’m concerned you’re a hired hand and if you don’t like it you can f**k off!’

“James stayed but, unsurprisingly, there was a somewhat tense atmosphere between the two of them until the problem was eventually solved by David becoming Sky TV’s Head of Sport in the UK and then one of Rupert Murdoch’s top TV executives in America.”

James Hunt and Murray Walker in conversation in January 1993. Image: LAT Photographic.

The Hunt/Walker stoush had begun to fade away as early as 1983, as Walker recounted following an offer from McLaren chief Ron Dennis to test-drive that year’s MP4-Cosworth F1 car at Silverstone.

It was an occasion which Walker enjoyed immensely, especially because he had a Hunt there as his colleague and mentor.

“Well done, Murray,” said James as his BBC partner got out of the car. “You’ve done something that any Grand Prix driver would give his eye teeth for.” 

“Have I? What’s that?”

“You’ve improved your lap time by half a minute!”

Read the full feature in the latest issue of AUTO ACTION.

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