He didn't watch a race until he was18, but when he did, he decided to be World Champion. When he started driving, he was so terrified that he used to throw up before races and shivered so violently that even the car would vibrate. He had fist fights with his opponents and caused more accidents on the track than anyone else. He was a heavy drinker, smoked nearly 50 cigarettes a day, and indulged in drugs and women. He hated convention and rebelled against it whenever he could, turning up barefoot in torn blue jeans and a tattered t-shirt, even on highly formal occasions. He drove like a lunatic, took on established greats like Niki Lauda and won the Formula 1 World Championship. If ever there was a man who lived his life to the max, it was James Hunt, the doggedly mutinous son ofa London stockbroker who at once endeared and estranged people around him with his arrogant and boisterous personality.
Born into a reasonably well-off family, Hunt was good at most sports, particularly tennis and squash. But motor racing never figured in his mind as a hobby, let alone a career. That was until one of his friends took him toa club meet at Silverstone on his 18th birthday. The impulsive young man that he was, Hunt decided then and there that he would take up racing as his career and would go on until he won the Formula 1World Championship.
Since his parents refused to fund his aspirations, he raised money by doing odd jobs. He didn't find much success in his earlier races, and more than anything, he earned a reputation for causing some spectacular accidents on the tracks and the nickname "Hunt the Shunt". Once he nearly drowned himself when he crashed a car before plunging into a deep lake.
It was during this period that he met the equally crazy Lord Alexander Hesketh, who had formed his own racing team just because he had no better way to spend the massive fortune he inherited. Even the fact that his Hesketh Racing team didn't find much success in Formula 3 and Formula 2 races didn't prevent the eccentric Lord from entering Formula 1 in 1974. But since his team was known more for their wayward ways off-track than for their racing exploits, no one took them seriously. However, the racing world soon took notice of the madcap Brit who pipped Niki Lauda to the finish line at the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix. But Lord Hesketh soon ran out of money and withdrew his team, leaving Hunt high and dry.
As luck would have it, Emerson Fittipaldi left the McLaren team unexpectedly at the start of the 1976 season, leaving the door open for Hunt. He impressed all with his fast driving skills, but also earned a lot of foes due to his bad temper and abusive manner. His best chance to fulfil his dream came when Niki Lauda, who hada clear lead until then, had his near-fatal crash at the Nürburgring. Hunt won the German Grand Prix and went on to win five more to take the lead. Lauda came back,and in the last race of the season he set up one of the most dramatic title showdowns in F1 history. But the Austrian found the wet track too dangerous and pulled out midway. Hunt grabbed the chance and drove frantically to finish third in the race and take the title.
Once he achieved his goal, he lost his drive and retired after two more seasons. And in 1993, a massive heart attack put an abrupt end to the turbulently eventful life of 45 years.
