Red Bull Motorsports
F1
Legends: James Hunt
We look at the life of F1’s original wildchild as a new exhibition on the 1976 champion opens.
There were more sides to Hunt than people think
© Phipps/Sutton Images Collection
Next week, London’s Proud Gallerieswill celebrate the life of Formula One driver James Hunt in an exhibition of images from the archive of photographer David Phipps.
While other drivers in the Formula One canon live long in the memory because of their supreme skill behind the wheel – names like Fangio, Clark, Rindt and Senna – Hunt’s legacy has largely endured because of the playboy lifestyle that he came to embody.
That means that, although 40 years ago Hunt achieved what many better thought-of drivers tried and failed to do, winning the Formula One World Championship, today he’s more often remembered for his “If you think my girlfriend can fight, you should see her box” T-shirts and the fag-and-beer accessories that always seemed to be within reach when he was out of the car.
Watch a typical James Hunt interview, on the podium of the 1976 British Grand Prix, in the video below.
But as Ron Howard showed in his 2013 film Rush – chronicling the dramatic fight between Hunt and Niki Lauda for the 1976 Formula One World Championship – there was a deeper side to Hunt that the public rarely saw.
Ahead of the exhibition – tellingly called James Hunt: Girls, Beer and Victory – Proud Galleries have offered RedBull.com a tantalising glimpse into the Phipps archive. Enjoy the photographs below, with reflections on the man himself from legendary F1 photographer Keith Sutton, whose Sutton Images company owns the Phipps collection.
Hunt winning the 1976 World Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix
Winning the title in 1976
© Phipps/Sutton Images Collection
A dejected Hunt, thinking he’s missed out on the 1976 title, is emphatically told by McLaren team boss Teddy Mayer that he’s finished third, enough to give him the championship by one point from Niki Lauda. Ever the sportsman, Hunt gave an interview with the BBC after the race, saying: “I felt that I deserved to win the championship. I also felt that Niki deserved to win the championship, and I just wish we could have shared it."
Lauda and Hunt on the podium
Lauda and Hunt share the spoils
© Phipps/Sutton Images Collection
Hunt celebrates winning the British Grand Prix in 1977 alongside ‘frenemy’ Niki Lauda, with the burns from Lauda’s horrific crash at the Nürburgring the year before still visible under his cap.
“I think James was fast, really quick,” says Keith Sutton when RedBull.com asks if Hunt is underrated as a driver. “It’s just that for him, it seemed to me as if he could take it or leave it. His F1 career was quite short when you think about it. He started in 1973 and packed it in in ’79, and the way he did it was typical of him, just driving into the pits, getting out of the car and saying ‘that’s it’.”
Hunt plays backgammon with Bernie Ecclestone and Teddy Mayer
Hunt was hugely competitive
© Phipps/Sutton Images Collection
Despite his easy-going nature, Hunt was famously competitive, particularly in his favourite hobbies of squash and tennis – and also in backgammon, apparently…
“My favourite pictures in the exhibition are the ones away from the track, the lifestyle ones, because no-one else has those,” says Sutton. “There’s a great one where James is down in Marbella, relaxing and playing tennis.”
Hunt with his girlfriend Jane Birbeck
With girlfriend Jane Birbeck
© Phipps/Sutton Images Collection
The other thing Hunt is famous for, of course, is the string of attractive women he dated, not least his wife Suzy – who later left Hunt for the actor Richard Burton – and his girlfriend Jane Birbeck.
“He was with some beautiful women, wasn’t he?” says Keith Sutton. “I mean, Suzy Hunt was absolutely stunning. I think James wanted to enjoy himself, and in those days, you probably could more than you can now.”
Hunt contemplates a post-race debrief at the 1977 United States Grand Prix
Hunt celebrates his 1977 US Grand Prix win
© Phipps/Sutton Images Collection
Asked if any modern F1 driver had the spirit of Hunt, Sutton – who still works in F1 having started as a freelancer in 1980 – replies simply: “Kimi Räikkönen.”
“Kimi’s very similar, but he’s living in a different age. He would love to have driven in the 70s. James is his hero [Räikkönen famously entered snowmobile races in Finland under the name ‘James Hunt’, and wore a replica of Hunt's helmet at the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix]. But of course, these days you’ve got all the media pressure and everyone watching your every move, so it’s a lot more difficult. Kimi started off being a lot like James.”
Hunt fights to get Ronnie Peterson out of his burning Lotus at the 1978 Italian Grand Prix
Hunt bravely tries to help Ronnie Peterson
© Phipps/Sutton Images Collection
Another insight into Hunt’s human and sporting nature, this photo shows him struggling to pull Ronnie Peterson out of his Lotus at Monza. Although Peterson only suffered badly broken legs in the accident, he would sadly die the following day after bone marrow got into his bloodstream.
Winning the British Grand Prix in 1976
James Hunt at the 1976 British Grand Prix
© Phipps/Sutton Images Collection
“My fondest memories of James are towards the end of his life when he’d sorted himself out,” says Sutton. “When James became a commentator for the BBC, we stayed in the same hotel in Estoril. James was there with his two boys and I remember thinking what a fantastic father he was. He seemed to be in a good place.
“That was the ironic thing, that after all those years of partying hard and womanising and everything that went on, at the end, it seemed to me that he got his act together. And then it was all too late wasn’t it? He died so young [of a heart attack in 1993, at the age of 45]. That’s the sad thing.”
Asked why Hunt’s legacy endures, Sutton reflects: “In the 70s, you had sports stars like Alex Higgins and George Best who were very talented at what they did, but they just turned up, and James was like that. You could just relate to him a bit more, couldn’t you?
“I mean,” he adds, “who can relate to Lewis Hamilton?”
