James Hunt

James Hunt
Hunt in 1977
Born(1947-08-29)29 August 1947
Belmont, Surrey, England
Died15 June 1993(1993-06-15) (aged 45)
Wimbledon, London, England
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityUnited Kingdom British
Active years19731979
TeamsHesketh, McLaren, Wolf
Entries93 (92 starts)
Championships1 (1976)
Wins10
Podiums23
Career points179
Pole positions14
Fastest laps8
First entry1973 Monaco Grand Prix
First win1975 Dutch Grand Prix
Last win1977 Japanese Grand Prix
Last entry1979 Monaco Grand Prix

James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993)[1] was a British racing driver who won the Formula One World Championship in 1976. After retiring from racing in 1979, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman until his death.

Beginning his racing career in touring car racing, Hunt progressed into Formula Three, where he attracted the attention of the Hesketh Racing team and soon came under their wing. Hunt's often reckless and action-packed exploits on track earned him the nickname "Hunt the Shunt" (shunt, as a British motor-racing term, means "crash"). Hunt entered Formula One in 1973, driving a March 731 entered by the Hesketh Racing team. He went on to win for Hesketh, driving their own Hesketh 308 car, in both World Championship and non-championship races, before joining the McLaren team at the end of 1975. In his first year with McLaren, Hunt won the 1976 World Drivers' Championship, and he remained with the team for a further two years, although with less success, before moving to the Wolf team in early 1979. Following a string of races in which he failed to finish, Hunt retired from driving halfway through the 1979 season.

After retiring from motor racing, he established a career as a motor racing commentator for the BBC. He died from a heart attack when he was 45.[2]

  1. ^ "Driver: Hunt, James". Archived from the original on 4 November 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Autocourse Grand Prix Archive, 14 October 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
  2. ^ Siano, Joseph (16 June 1993). "James Hunt, 45, Race-Car Driver Known for Style as Well as Title". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 April 2018.

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