James Hunt

James Hunt married Suzy Miller in October 1974 but by the end of 1975, she moved on with Richard Burton, who also paid Hunt's divorce settlement of $1 million.

He married Sarah Lomax in December 1983. Together, they had two children, Tom and Freddie. They divorced in November 1989.

He died of heart attack in his sleep on June 15, 1993. He was 45 years old and had proposed to Helen Dyson via telephone a day before his death.

James Hunt was born on August 29, 1947, in Belmont to a London stockbroker, Wallis Hunt and his wife Sue Hunt. He was the second child of the family and had an elder sister and four younger siblings.

He got educated at Westerleigh School in Hastings from 1955 and later at Wellington College in Crowthorne, Berkshire. As a young boy, he was resolute by nature and became a talented sportsman, excelling in tennis and squash.

Exposure to an auto race before his 18th birthday motivated him to become a professional car racer. However, given his whimsical temperament, his parents did not support his plans. He did odd jobs to purchase a previously owned Mini and dedicated two years race-preparing it. His entry was, however, disqualified because the driver's seat was an old lawn chair. He later worked as a trainee manager of a telephone company to collect necessary funds to prepare for races.

In the initial days of his racing ventures, he met several big accidents that instilled fear in him. Gradually, he learned to overcome these fears momentarily in order to win races but would throw up in the garage.

In 1968, he raced in Formula Ford and drove a Russell-Alexis Mk 14 car. In his first race, he finished at the fifth position. He first won at Lydden Hill and set a lap record on the Brands Hatch short circuit.

In 1969, he raced in Formula Three and drove a Meryln Mk11A car. Thereafter, he won several races and created a reputation for himself. In 1972, he was dropped from the STP-March Formula Three team.

He signed up with the Hesketh team in 1973. Initially, the team entered him in Formula Two but with little success. He was later entered in Formula One according to Lord Hesketh’s wishes. He drove the Hesketh March 731 and won the second position at the 1973 United States Grand Prix.

In 1974, he was successful at the BRDC International Trophy non-Championship race at Silverstone. In 1975, he won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Soon, Hesketh was running short of funds leading Hunt to sign up with McLaren for the next season.

1976 was the most remarkable season of his career. He drove the McLaren M23 and won six F1 Grand Prix that year. He was the last British F1 champion until Nigel Mansell won the 1992 championship for Williams.

James Hunt won a total of ten Grand Prix during his lifetime out of which six were won in the year 1976 when he was part of team McLaren.