James Hunt F1 Profile & Career Stats
Former Formula 1 Driver
James Hunt †
F1 career: 1973 - 1979
Driver Profile
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Height | 1.86 meter / 6 feet 1 inch1.86 m / 6'1" |
| Place of Birth | Belmont |
| Date of Birth | Aug 29th 1947 |
| Date of Death | Jun 15th 1993: 45 years old |
| Season Entries | 7 (1973–1979) |
| Car Number | 20 |
Championship Titles
- 1976McLaren1 clear of Niki Lauda
F1 Career Team History
Full Career Statistics
| Drivers' Titles | 1 |
| Grand Prix Entries | 93 |
| Grand Prix Starts | 92 |
| Total Points | 179.00 |
| Avg. Points per GP | 1.92 |
| Grand Prix Wins | 10 (10,8%) |
| Wins from pole | 7 (7,5%) |
| Pole Positions | 14 (15,1%) |
| Front Row Starts | 24 (25,8%) |
| Avg. GP Grid | 6.8 |
| GP Podiums | 23 (24,7%) |
| GP Fastest Laps | 8 (8,6%) |
| GP Points Finish | 35 (37,6%) |
| Avg. GP Position | 4.2 |
| Hat-tricks | 2 (2,2%) |
| GP DNFs | 46 (49,5%) |
| Total GP Laps | 3.924 |
Key Career Landmarks
Race
1973 Monaco F1 Grand Prix1973 MON F1 GP 25 years, 278 days25y, 278d1979 Monaco F1 Grand Prix1979 MON F1 GP 31 years, 271 days31y, 271d
1973 Monaco F1 Grand Prix1973 MON F1 GP 25 years, 278 days25y, 278d1979 Monaco F1 Grand Prix1979 MON F1 GP 31 years, 271 days31y, 271dPole
1976 Brazilian F1 Grand Prix1976 BRA F1 GP 28 years, 149 days28y, 149d
1977 USA F1 Grand Prix1977 USA F1 GP 30 years, 34 days30y, 34d
1976 Brazilian F1 Grand Prix1976 BRA F1 GP 28 years, 149 days28y, 149d1977 USA F1 Grand Prix1977 USA F1 GP 30 years, 34 days30y, 34dWin
1975 Dutch F1 Grand Prix1975 NED F1 GP 27 years, 297 days27y, 297d
1977 Japanese F1 Grand Prix1977 JPN F1 GP 30 years, 55 days30y, 55d
1975 Dutch F1 Grand Prix1975 NED F1 GP 27 years, 297 days27y, 297d1977 Japanese F1 Grand Prix1977 JPN F1 GP 30 years, 55 days30y, 55dPodium1973 Dutch F1 Grand Prix1973 NED F1 GP 25 years, 334 days25y, 334d
1978 French F1 Grand Prix1978 FRA F1 GP 30 years, 307 days30y, 307d
1973 Dutch F1 Grand Prix1973 NED F1 GP 25 years, 334 days25y, 334d1978 French F1 Grand Prix1978 FRA F1 GP 30 years, 307 days30y, 307dFastest lap1973 British F1 Grand Prix1973 GBR F1 GP 25 years, 319 days25y, 319d1977 British F1 Grand Prix1977 GBR F1 GP 29 years, 321 days29y, 321d
1973 British F1 Grand Prix1973 GBR F1 GP 25 years, 319 days25y, 319d1977 British F1 Grand Prix1977 GBR F1 GP 29 years, 321 days29y, 321dPoints finish1973 French F1 Grand Prix1973 FRA F1 GP 25 years, 306 days25y, 306d1978 French F1 Grand Prix1978 FRA F1 GP 30 years, 307 days30y, 307d
1973 French F1 Grand Prix1973 FRA F1 GP 25 years, 306 days25y, 306d1978 French F1 Grand Prix1978 FRA F1 GP 30 years, 307 days30y, 307dWin from pole
1976 Spanish F1 Grand Prix1976 ESP F1 GP 28 years, 247 days28y, 247d1977 USA F1 Grand Prix1977 USA F1 GP 30 years, 34 days30y, 34d
1976 Spanish F1 Grand Prix1976 ESP F1 GP 28 years, 247 days28y, 247d1977 USA F1 Grand Prix1977 USA F1 GP 30 years, 34 days30y, 34dHat-trick1976 United States F1 Grand Prix1976 USA F1 GP 29 years, 42 days29y, 42d1977 British F1 Grand Prix1977 GBR F1 GP 29 years, 321 days29y, 321d
1976 United States F1 Grand Prix1976 USA F1 GP 29 years, 42 days29y, 42d1977 British F1 Grand Prix1977 GBR F1 GP 29 years, 321 days29y, 321dF1 Career Finishing Positions
1st
10
2nd
6
3rd
7
4th
6
5th
2
6th
3
7th
4
8th
2
9th
1
10th
2
12th
1
DNF
46
DSQ
2
DNS
1
DNF Did Not FinishDSQ DisqualifiedDNS Did Not Start
Performance Breakdown
Bio
James Hunt Biography
James Hunt was Britain's sixth F1 champion in history.
James Hunt
James Simon Wallis Hunt, four words and a life full of joy and rebelliousness. Ultimately, the life of a World Champion. Hunt was born on the 29th of August of 1947 in Belmont, England. There are not many secrets when it comes to his childhood and teenage years compared to what he represented as an adult.
He was a difficult kid whose energy was off the charts. Rebellious he was, and an athlete too. He played tennis and simply had everything going his way regarding his love life. However, at 18 years of age, James Hunt would find what would drive his competitiveness on the right way and help him canalize it: car racing.
His father Wallis, a stockbroker, and his mother Sue did not support his immersion in racing, but a young Hunt was not going to be denied. After working hard to pay for his machinery, he was known as “Hunt the Shunt” due to the recurrent crashes, including a near-fatal accident in a Formula Ford race in which he got close to drowning.
As he progressed into Formula Three, he found some success, but still had exaggerated drives in which his mindset was not fully calmed to make great decisions at the wheel. Still, his speed was noticeable. After spending four years in Formula Three, from 1969 to 1972, Lord Alexander Hesketh came calling and Hunt made his way into the Formula 1 grid.
Hunt's Formula 1 Debut
James-Hunt racing the Hesketh around the Nurburgring during the 1975 German GP
In a March 731 entered by Hesketh Racing, James Hunt made his Formula 1 debut in the 1973 Monaco Grand Prix. He started the race from 18th place and could not finish due to an engine failure. He started seven of the 15 races in the 1973 calendar and was able to finish inside the top ten in the World Drivers’ Championship.
Though many did not respect Hesketh, the team showed speed and Hunt was able to score the first podium of his career in the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix. Then, he added another podium finish with a solid drive at Watkins Glen. He finished four of his seven races in 1973 in the points.
1974 F1 season
Hesketh built their own car for the 1974 F1 season, the Hesketh 308, and Hunt was able to gain podium spots again. Reliability and his tendencies to collisions only allowed him to finish eighth in the WDC again, although he participated in the complete season. Podiums at Sweden, Austria and the USA again, proved that Hunt’s driving was solid, although it needed polishing.
Hunt started 1975 with a great second place in the 1975 Argentine Grand Prix and then scored a point in Brazil. Then, a streak of five straight retirements,three due to mechanical issues and a couple of crashes— took him out of a possible title fight. After the unfortunate streak, Hunt came firing on all cylinders and defeated the two Ferraris of Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni in the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix to win his first Grand Prix. He gave Hesketh the first and only win of the team in the pinnacle of motorsport.
McLaren M23 driven by James Hunt in Monaco 1976
Eventually, Lauda won the WDC in 1975 and Ferrari was the top manufacturer, but Hunt’s strong second half of 1975 pushed him into fourth in the WDC and established him as a threat to the Austrian champion and the Italian giants.
1976 F1 Drivers' Title
As James Hunt was no longer supported by Hesketh and Emerson Fittipaldi shockingly left McLaren at the end of 1975, the English driver saw himself with the chance to arrive in a big team. McLaren had won the World Drivers’ Championship for the first time in 1974 with the Brazilian driver and could help Hunt’s charge to become a World Champion.
Hunt grabbed the first couple of Pole Positions of his career in his first two races behind the wheel of the M23 but he retired at Brazil and finished second at South Africa. In the next four races, Hunt retired three times and took the second victory of his career at Spain, though he was initially disqualified.
Fifth in Sweden and a dominant win at France seemed to put Hunt’s season on track, but he was disqualified from his home race, the British Grand Prix, for not completing a full lap after the first start. The decision to disqualify Hunt occurred two months after the race.
James Hunt racing the McLaren M23 at the US GP (1976)
After the race at Brands Hatch, Lauda was the championship leader with 23 points over Hunt with eight races remaining. A win was worth nine points and, although Lauda’s lead was big, Hunt still had a shot. However, Hunt’s opportunity became very realistic when the unfortunate 1976 German Grand Prix arrived. His off-track friend, Lauda, had a near-fatal accident in a race Hunt himself won comfortably.
Hunt finished fourth and took a victory in the next two races, which Lauda missed due to his injuries. As the Austrian champion returned for the 1976 Italian Grand Prix, his lead was cut to just two points.
Lauda finished fourth in Italy and Hunt retired. With three races left, Lauda’s lead was just five points over Hunt. The English driver took consecutive wins from Pole Position at Canada and the USA to inch within three points of the Austrian with one race to go.
At the finale, the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji, Hunt qualified second with Lauda behind him. The Englishman needed to win, to finish second with Lauda fourth, third with Lauda sixth or fourth with Lauda seventh or worst in order to win the title.
Pouring rain flooded the Fuji Speedway on Sunday. James Hunt took the lead right out of the box, while Lauda only lasted two laps in the race before he withdrew due to the unsafe conditions,another champion, Emerson Fittipaldi, withdrew too—.
Hunt was comfortably ahead, but he was overtaken late in the race as his worn tyres produced a puncture. He pitted and came out fifth, but managed to overtake Alan Jones and Regazzoni to finish third behind Mario Andretti and Patrick Depailler and win the WDC with a one-point gap over Lauda.
1977 F1 season
Niki Lauda & James Hunt
Lauda recovered in 1977 and retook the title, while Hunt could only finish fifth in the WDC. Of course, Hunt was not as motivated as he once was since he had already accomplished his goal. Still, he was not very competitive after his title-winning season and his third win of 1977, at Japan, was the last of his career.
Also in 1977, he helped an unknown Gilles Villeneuve start his F1 race with a McLaren car after Hunt got beat by the Canadian in a Formula Atlantic a year earlier.
1978 F1 season
In 1978, he finished third in France, which was his last podium finish. For 1979, he left McLaren and joined Wolf, but he retired after seven starts with the team and only one race finished.
After his retirement, there were moments in which he tried to return to racing, but he really found his place while commentating Formula 1 races alongside legendary narrator Murray Walker. In his second career, Hunt was just as loved by racing fans who enjoyed his unique style and the occasional harsh critique of certain drivers.
He married twice: first to Suzy Miller and then to Sarah Lomax, the mother of his two sons, Tom and Freddie.
James Hunt cause of death
At the age of 45, Hunt died of a heart attack on the 15th of June of 1993 in Wimbledon. To this date, more than 25 years after his death, Hunt continues to be remembered by Formula 1 fans as probably the biggest star of the sport due to his unique style, especially outside the track, and his personality.
James Hunt rivalry with Lauda returned to the main stage in 2013 thanks to the movie Rush, with Chris Hemsworth playing Hunt’s role.
"We had a respectful, nice relationship. We trusted each other. He would not push you off the road, which in those days was important”, Lauda once said about Hunt.
Seasons
James Hunt Championship Results
1× World Championship1976–1976 · McLaren
One title, won in 1976 with McLaren.
- 1976McLaren69 pts1 clear of Niki Laudasealed at 1976 Japanese F1 GP
James Hunt F1 Seasons Summary
Races
Wins
Podiums
Poles
Teammates
James Hunt — Frequently Asked Questions
When did James Hunt start racing in Formula 1?
James Hunt started racing in Formula 1 in 1973.
Is James Hunt still racing in Formula 1?
James Hunt passed away in 1993. Last competed in Formula 1 in 1979.
How many Formula 1 races has James Hunt won?
James Hunt has won 10 Formula 1 races.
How many F1 World Championships has James Hunt won?
James Hunt has won 1 Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship (1976).
How many F1 podiums does James Hunt have?
James Hunt has finished on the podium 23 times in Formula 1.
When did James Hunt win their first F1 race?
James Hunt won their first Formula 1 race at the 1975 Dutch F1 GP.
What nationality is James Hunt?
James Hunt is British.
Which teams has James Hunt driven for in Formula 1?
James Hunt has driven for March, Hesketh, McLaren and Wolf in Formula 1.
How many F1 races has James Hunt entered?
James Hunt has competed in 93 Formula 1 Grands Prix.
