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James Simon Wallis Hunt is a former British Formula One driver who won the F1 World Championship title in the year 1976 which was a nail-biting contest and one of the most famous title chase in the history of the sport. The success story of this season turned out to be so amazing that it became the base for the Hollywood movie titled Rush.
James Hunt entered into the world of F1 in the year 1973 where he drove March 731 entered by the Hesketh Racing Team. He made to podium quite a few times with Hesketh which drew the attention of McLaren and hence he was signed for the same by the end of 1975 season where he finally clinched the World Title in the year 1976. He continued with the team for 2 more years before entering into the team Wolf in 1979. Following a series of races where he failed to finish, he bid goodbye to his racing career in midst of 1979 season.
However, his talent was never questioned because right after his retirement he became a part of BBC commentary team and continued to amaze us till the very end of his life. His frank and extrovert nature were good enough to take a dig at the happenings and at times it turned too brutal for the players. Here we look at 7 times when his commentary was purely savage.
#1 Hunt on René Arnoux – 1988 Australian Grand Prix
René Alexandre Arnoux is a French racing driver who drove in Formula One for 12 seasons. He couldn't bag any World title but has 7 Grand Prix victories to his credit. He was first seen at 1978 South African Grand Prix while his entry was at Australian GP in 1989.
He has always been the target of James and when he collided with Gerhard Berger at Australian Grand Prix in 1989, Hunt went too much in the flow and said "he has no business in Grand Prix races with such style of driving."
#6 Hunt on Nelson Piquet- 1987 French Grand Prix
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior popularly known as Nelson Piquet is a former Brazilian racing driver who actively drove in Formula One for good 11 years and bagged World Championship Titles thrice which was in1981, 1983 and 1987. He made his F1 debut in 1978 at German Grand Prix and was last seen in 1991 at Australian Grand Prix. In total, he has clinched 23 Grand Prix victories.
It is very usual for the drives to stall their cars due to several reasons. Sometimes it is because of pressure, car problem or some simple mistake. It is a costly affair and when Piquet did the same after a pit stop at Paul Ricard in 1987, James Hunt left no chance to mock him and took on the incident to another level by stating "When somebody is concentrating badly, it looks to me..Piquet should probably retire"
#5 Hunt on Jean-Pierre Jarier – 1983 Austrian Grand Prix
Jean-Pierre Jacques Jarie is a French former racing driver who is famed for driving in Formula One for many reputed teams such as Shadow, Team Lotus, Ligier and Tyrrell Racing. He could not win a single race. However, his best finish was at Third Place three times. He was first seen at 1971 Italian Grand Prix and marked his last entry at South African Grand Prix in 1983.
Now there are some drivers who are simply not in Hunt's good books and there is no definite reason for it. Jean Pierre is one such unlucky man. He was known for his fast driving in his early years. He couldn't get any win but somehow by the end of his career, he developed a decent reputation for being an unhelpful back-marker. In 1983 Australian GP, his driving was particularly bad due to which he was criticized by Walker but Hunt got more brutal and said “ He's got a mental age of 10!! For being himself, he should receive a permanent suspension." Now that was terrible.
#4 Hunt on Philippe Alliot – 1989 Japanese Grand Prix
Philippe Alliot is a former French racing driver who was active in Formula One from 1984-1990 and then again for one year from 1993-94. He raced for some famous teams such as Ram, Ligier, Larrousse and McLaren. He marked his debut in 1984 at Brazilian Grand Prix and was last seen in 1994 Belgian Grand Prix. In total, he has 116 entries in Formula along with 7 career points.
Alliot was majorly a back-marker who spent the maximum time of his career driving for the Larrousse team. He was known for his accidents and this incident dates back to 1989 at Japanese Grand Prix where his minor accident provoked James Hunt and again he got too frank with his words and stated for the Frenchman "And Alliot looking to be having his usual accidents which is not fairly standard for him"
#3 Hunt on René Arnoux (again) – 1989 Monaco Grand Prix
René Alexandre Arnoux is a French racing driver who drove in Formula One for 12 seasons. He couldn't bag any World title but has 7 Grand Prix victories to his credit. He was first seen at 1978 South African Grand Prix while his entry was at Australian GP in 1989. He made to podium 22 times and in total, he has 181 career points with 18 pole positions and 12 fastest laps.
When James Hunt comes to his usual way of mocking people, he leaves no nobody and that was the case with Rene Arnoux in 1989 at Monaco Grand Prix. While Arnoux was going too slow on the tracks, Hunt interpreted his excuse in a hilarious manner and stated "The reason I'm going so slow these days is I am into turbo cars and these normally aspirated engine cars are a very different type of fish to drive"
#2 Hunt on Andrea de Cesaris – 1990 San Marino Grand Prix
Andre de Cesaris was an Italian racing driver who started 208 Formula Grand Prix but couldn't win even single one and as a result, he holds the record for maximum races started without a victory. He had a stint of 14 years in Formula where he made his debut in 1980 at Canadian Grand Prix and was last seen at European Grand Prix in 1994.
In his early years, he was known to be a bit accident prone but by 1990, he was being considered quite a decent driver for many teams. Now this Incident happened at San Marino Grand Prix in the year 1990 where Cesaris blocked the way of Nigel Mansell and Hunt couldn't stop himself and stated "That was Cesaris doing his usual stuff, he should see Mansell is coming inside and look at this IDIOT" Now that must have really left Cesaris astounded.
#1 Hunt on Philippe Alliot (again) – 1990 Portuguese Grand Prix
Philippe Alliot is a former French racing driver who was active in Formula One from 1984-1990 and then again for one year from 1993-94. He raced for some famed teams such as Ram, Ligier, Larrousse and McLaren. He marked his debut in 1984 at Brazilian Grand Prix and was last seen at in 1994 Belgian Grand Prix. In total, he has 116 entries in Formula along with 7 career points.
This time it again happens with Alliot but this time it was a bigger trouble. In 1990 at the Portuguese Grand Prix, Alliot clipped Mansell on the second turn and got himself into the barrier due to his improper driving skills. This was enough for Hunt to get started with his classic dose of insult and he stated "Mansell was lucky to be not taken out by that ridiculous piece of driving from Alliot…the man who crashes in every Grand Prix anyway.." Too relentless. Isn't it? Well, that's Hunt for you.
