James Hunt's friends remember a Jekyll & Hyde F1 driver

F1

This month's issue looks at James Hunt's 1977, a season which featured perhaps his finest driving but also encapsulated his unique personality

1976-F1-world-champion-James-Hunt

Young began to see a different side to Hunt after spending time with him

McLaren

A man with a “terrible temper,” who could also be “charming”, a racer who “covered his cards” to secure the 1976 F1 title but also “wasn’t entirely ruthless” – James Hunt was the ultimate Jekyll & Hyde racing driver.

The impression left by the charismatic racer is still strong today, apparent from those remembering Hunt in this month’s 1977-themed issue.

It was a season which saw him at his best, but also encapsulated his worst too. Silverstone and Fuji brought virtuoso wins, but disinterest also began to set in with the difficult birth of the McLaren M26 he used for the majority of the season, manifesting itself in erratic behaviour from Hunt.

McLaren-F1-driver-James-Hunt-in-the-pits-in-the-1977-season

Hunt struggled at first with ’77 car

It’s a mix that makes him so fascinating as a character, resulting him often being talked about more than those who accumulated greater racing statistics – but didn’t do it quite like James.

Straight-talking Ulsterman John Watson compares and contrasts in Hunt’s racing style to others in this month’s edition.

From the archive

“James was a highly competitive person,” he says. “He was intelligent and had worked out if he had the inside line going into Tarzan and you were on the outside, he would sweep up the track and essentially drive you off the track. I backed out of it. Mario Andretti believed James understood the etiquette of racing wheel to wheel to give racing room – and James didn’t.

“With respect, he lucked into his title [because of Lauda’s Nürburgring accident], but he made the best of what was offered to him. In Canada and America he was the dominant driver in an excellent car and the team understood how to get the best out of him. As he went into 1977 he had the benefit of being the world champion and felt ‘I can do it again’ – fundamentally he was outstanding then.”

Another competitor to witness the man and racer up close was Hunt’s McLaren team-mate Jochen Mass. The two got on but, as the German admits, the ’76 champ would do what he had to in order to win.

“James was wild,” says Mass. “He never calmed down completely and I think there was a reckless streak that came between him and his well-being.

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As success waned, so did Hunt’s interest in staying an F1 driver

McLaren

“As a driver he was masterful and brave. When he came to McLaren from Hesketh he was used to a one-car team, getting his own way, so he covered his cards, never gave anything away. I liked him, there was a mutual respect.”

That steely exterior forged at Hesketh was something appreciated by his first F1 team boss, helping the little outfit to become a front-runner for a brief period.

“If he’d been born 20 years earlier he would have been a fighter pilot”

“James was not only a quick racing driver, he was also tough; extremely competitive,” says Lord Hesketh.

“If he’d been born 20 years earlier he would have been a fighter pilot. There would have been a lot of black crosses on the side of his Spitfire. He had no time for the celebrity thing. It really didn’t interest him.”

Hunt’s darker side and increasing fear of risking his life for anything other than a win ultimately led him to quit halfway through 1979.

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His post-racing career saw him become F1 co-commentator with Murray Walker at the BBC, and the ‘Voice of F1’ was very much witness to the former world champion’s different sides, eventually seeing a new Hunt emerge.

“He was a man of moods, had a terrible temper, but he could also be utterly charming,” said Walker.

“We made a good combination because James was so knowledgeable and outspoken.

“I admired his courage when he got out of his Wolf at Monaco in ’79 and said he’d didn’t want to risk his life any more.

“Later he had serious financial problems. He became a different man, more humble, more cheerful.

“This, I think, was the James that had lived inside him all the time.”

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