Yahoo Autos James Hunt Would Have Turned 69 Today
James Hunt was the sort of man that should be an F1 driver. He makes Kimi Raikkonen, probably the wildest driver on the grid today, look like Donny Osmond.
Hunt was known for his off-track behavior, which was different than the professional, squeaky-clean image that F1 drivers have today. His version of "dressing up" was bare feet and jeans. He was always seen with a different woman. He would take his dog out to dinner in fancy restaurants.
This is a man who got his first F1 start driving for Hesketh, a team that seemed to value champagne over results. A place that had a teddy bear as its mascot. A place that let him have a patch on his suit that said "Sex: Breakfast of Champions." The best part is that he was fast, and managed to win a Grand Prix for the upstart team in just its third season.
That was enough to attract McLaren's attention, where he won the F1 championship in his first year with the team. He was also highly regarded in the paddock. Unlike what Ron Howard's Rush would have you believe, Hunt and Niki Lauda were close friends off track (but still fierce rivals on). He was pals with Ronnie Peterson, Jody Scheckter, and Gilles Villeneuve too.
Hunt earned a total of 10 world championship race wins with Hesketh and McLaren, but that's not what made him great. What made him great was his personality and how he wasn't some sort of corporate drone that just drove a car fast.
Hunt died of a heart attack in 1993 at the age of 45. But since he would have been 69 today, we'd like to imagine that he'd be celebrating by making a lot of inappropriate jokes.
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