James Simon Wallis Hunt. August 29, 1947 – June 15, 1993
Lord Alexander Fermor-Hesketh, Anthony ‘Bubbles’ Horsley and James Hunt.
Definition: A triumvirate is a group of three people who work together, especially when in charge of something.
A Formula One Team!
‘The establishment didn’t like us at all. They just saw me as a fat aristocrat throwing his money around. Showing they could be beaten suddenly became rather important’ – Lord Hesketh.
The ‘Good Lord, ‘ as James Hunt often referred to Lord Hesketh, provided James with his debut in Formula One.
James entered the F1 stage in 1973, driving a March 731 for the Hesketh Racing Team.
James was known for his playboy lifestyle, a match made in heaven when he joined Hesketh Racing.
James had a reputation for being outspoken and unpredictable, on and off the track,
his reckless and outrageous exploits on track earned him the nickname ‘Hunt the Shunt.’
He was a masterful driver, especially in wet conditions, which provided him with opportunities that other ‘mature’ drivers wouldn’t contemplate.
Hunt won the 1976 World Drivers’ Championship in his first year with McLaren and retired partway through the 1979 season.
He is characterised as the ‘bad boy of F1’ —a hard-drinking, hedonistic playboy.
In his private life, he was very different. He didn’t seek stardom, and it is said that his celebrity made him uneasy.
James once said, ‘My first priority is to finish above rather than beneath the ground.’
In that, he succeeded.
In 1993, he died in his sleep of a heart attack.
