Here comes the son

Freddie Hunt does not share the Formula 1 dream that inspired his father James, but he would like to race at Le Mans. First, though, there’s the small matter of a quick run in his dad’s McLaren M23

Writer Rob Widdows | Photographer Jayson Fong

The likeness is almost spooky. The long limbs, the slight stoop, the slightly edgy vibes as he prepares to drive his father’s McLaren M23. Had we been at Brands Hatch this really would have been surreal. But we are at Silverstone and this is Freddie Hunt, not James, stepping into the car.

It might have been 40 years ago, but the drama of the 1976 British Grand Prix and James Hunt’s subsequent world championship win will be savoured and discussed for decades to come. These are moments in motor racing history and I’m so glad I was there that day at Brands to see Hunt win on the road in the most tumultuous circumstances. Looking at the red and white McLaren brings it all back, triggering so many vivid memories.

Freddie wasn’t even born, of course, and never saw his father race, but he has heard all the stories, seen the photos and watched the film. Good as it was, however, Rush could never have captured the visceral atmosphere that July afternoon in Kent.

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Unsurprisingly Freddie has inherited his father’s love of racing and has driven his Hesketh on several occasions, but the M23 is the car I remember when I close my eyes and imagine being back on the bank at Paddock Hill Bend, when the partially airborne Hunt landed with a thump that deranged his front suspension. I remember taking a pace backwards as cars slid and flew in all directions after Clay Regazzoni spun in front of the pack as they came through on the first lap. You could have heard the groans from Dartford, such was the reaction to what looked like the end of the race for the local hero. But those soon faded and the cheering began as Hunt drove away up the hill towards Druids and, with the red flag out, turned into the back of the pits where the McLaren mechanics waited to see what damage had been done.

By now the huge crowd was on its feet, shouting, cheering, spurring the team to get its man back out for the restart. Ferrari, meanwhile, saw a chance for Lauda to take advantage and lodged a protest, saying that Hunt should not be allowed to take any further part. The stewards, possibly fearing a riot as cans and bottles were thrown onto the track, sensibly said the incident would be reviewed after the race. People power won the day.

How much of this, I pondered, had Freddie known, or thought about, ahead of climbing into James’s McLaren and sliding his feet down to the pedals where his father’s feet, in those tatty old red race boots with cut-off toes, had been so many years ago? This is M23 chassis number 06, the car James used to win both the French and German Grands Prix in 1976. I wondered how it felt, surrounded by TV crews and photographers, to drive the car that brought his dad a world title. By now he looks a little flustered by the attention, a certain shyness on his face – like James who, contrary to popular opinion, had little interest in stardom.

“I’d always wanted to drive this car on a circuit,” he tells me, a slightly glazed look in his eyes, “and it was all over so quickly, just such a brief sensation of what it was like for Dad. It’s great to be here because this is where he notched up his first F1 victory, the BRDC International Trophy in 1974, and where he won the British Grand Prix in 1977, starting from pole and beating Niki Lauda’s Ferrari into second place. So yeah, it was a great experience, a great day, I loved the car and just want to race it now. It was pretty emotional for me, a real honour to be in the McLaren at last, but once I was out on the track I wasn’t thinking about Dad. I was too busy looking after the car. 

“I only managed one flying lap, but I got my foot down on the straights and it felt more powerful than the Hesketh, really nicely balanced, an amazing feeling. It was a very tight fit; the pedals were further forward than Dad would have had them, and my knees were jammed up against the chassis, quite uncomfortable. The tyres were cold and I didn’t want to do anything silly, but it felt predictable so that was good. The gears are so close together. I did miss one, and was just praying I hadn’t damaged the engine, but it was fine.

“I’d had a bit of a lump in my throat before going out there, having been interviewed by Murray Walker. And Alastair Caldwell was there too, just like he’d been there with Dad, so… yeah, that was pretty emotional. They told me some good stories and Murray had some amusing tales about the BBC TV commentary box. That was quite a moving conversation for me. I was only six years old when Dad died, but I’ve heard so many stories, seen so many videos and photos. It’s almost as if I know him better now than I did when I was a child. That’s quite weird.”

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The 40th anniversary of James Hunt’s world championship will be celebrated in some style at the Silverstone Classic in July and at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June. Thanks, in part, to the success of Ron Howard’s Rush there is renewed interest in Hunt, in his maverick personality and his battles with Niki Lauda. But according to Freddie the film did not accurately portray the real James Hunt.

“I liked the film as a whole, but what upset me was that Chris Hemsworth never spoke to anyone in our family, never asked us about Dad, what he was really like. By contrast Daniel Brühl spent a month with Niki and I think that showed in the film. I just didn’t think Hemsworth came across as my Dad, or the man I’ve heard so much about since meeting so many people in motor racing who knew him well. So yeah, as a family we were disappointed with the film in that respect.”

So where now for Freddie Hunt? How did he get to where he is today and what does the future hold for the young man with racing in his genes?

“Well, I think I have some talent, but I don’t know if I’m as good as my Dad. That’s what I want to find out, that’s why I’m going racing. My name has helped, of course; I would not have got the drives I’ve had thus far without being James Hunt’s son, that’s obvious, and as a child I had no interest at all in motor racing. It wasn’t until I started finding out more about Dad, talking to people, reading reports, that I started to think about racing myself. What got me hooked was the competition, it was the joy of competing, not the speed or the cars, and now I know my Dad was a very competitive guy too, so it must be in the genes. The challenge for me is getting the track time, the experience of racing, because I didn’t start in karts like all the other guys did when they were very young. Over a lap, or two, I’m as quick as anyone, I can do that no problem, but I find it hard to be consistent, to string those good times together lap after lap, and that’s down to experience. I’ve had too many accidents, made too many silly mistakes, and that’s just trying too hard to win. And winning is what it’s all about for me.”

Watching Freddie cruising around Silverstone in that famous McLaren, you’d think he’d been around racing cars all his life. This is not the case. As a child his passion was the natural world, wildlife his abiding interest, and he’s an Ambassador for the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. He’d learnt to ride a horse, and catch a wild animal, before ever he went near a racing car.

“I didn’t even know the difference between a road car and a racing car. I did go to Silverstone with Dad, but I was more interested in catching the ladybirds in the hedge around the hospitality area. The first time I ever drove a high-performance car was at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2006. It was a Maserati, and then I tried a Formula Ford and I was quick but erratic. I don’t know if I have Dad’s talent, but I hate losing and have inherited his competitive spirit. When I drive his Hesketh,
or today in the McLaren, it is pretty emotional, and I’ve heard a lot about the first F1 race he won here in ’74, overtaking Ronnie Peterson’s Lotus with two wheels on the grass at the old Woodcote.”

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This year Freddie is racing a Chevrolet in the Euro NASCAR series. His team-mate is none other than Mathias Lauda, son of Niki: Hunt versus Lauda all over again.

“We get on really well. He’s a great guy and we have a lot of fun, but of course we both want to win and he’s the first guy I have to beat. We were team-mates in the [Asia-based] MRF F2000 series back in 2014, and he helped me get the drive in Euro NASCAR, so we work well together. He has a lot more experience than me and I’ve learnt stuff from him, like I did from Nick Tandy in my first season in Formula Ford. What I need is more time in the car, but that means money, and finding sponsorship is proving incredibly difficult. I know I have the speed but I need to be more consistent and that only comes with more time, more experience. I don’t have any ambitions to get to F1, I started racing too late for that, but I am very keen to do Le Mans. That’s my goal.”

Both Freddie and his brother Tom will be out on track at the Silverstone Classic, in the McLaren M23 and Hesketh 308 respectively, while a superb collection of James’s road and racing cars will be on display. “I know the Silverstone crowds really took my Dad’s heroics to their hearts,” says Freddie, “so it’s going to be a very special weekend for all of us.” 

Silverstone Classic takes place on July 29-31. For tickets go to www.silverstoneclassic.com