Lewis got into a fender bender in the Zonda LH

I don't need to start, I have held that position for a long time, after witnessing his antics on the track.

Don't tell me that you need dirty tactics to win in F1; they are more likely used by drivers who have already obtained some domination as a signature for their talent: Senna, Schumacher, Hamilton.

Sort of saying "I am the best, see what I can get away with"..

I have never heard Clark, Stewart, Brabham, Fittipaldi, Prost, or Lauda being accused of dirty tactics. They were world champion too.

 

No, but I feel free to criticise his personality.

 

+1

Hilarious.

 

In an interview in Brazil during an inter-season, Senna claimed to have conversations with "the other side" to have the strength to win, and made much reference to his religious beliefs.
He intimated that he thought he was predestined to win, and that he saw it was a divine wish.

With that kind of endorsement, the guy could do no wrong, including ramming his competitors to win races! He thought that Ballestre was the devil incarnated!

I didn't listen to the rest of the programme, I switched off. I had heard enough BS for one day.

The great pity is that Senna was exceptionally talented and didn't need dirty tricks to win, but for him, it was winning a psychological war was more important than anything else.

 

I like a driver who think there is more to life than F1; Hunt was one of them.

Granted, Hunt was a dilletante who seemed more interested in the benefits outside F1, women, alcohol, drugs, tobacco, and had problems to concentrate on the job at hand sometimes.

He drove his team mad sometimes by his recklessness, but the talent was there.
Not the best example of a WDC, but an interesting character, compared to most of the dull ones on the F1 grid today, IMO.

 

Read this, from Wikipedia, and tell me if James Hunt wasn't a character.




"Hunt was notorious for his unconventional behaviour on and off the track, which earned him a reputation for cavalier indulgence in both alcohol and sex.[58] Having been part of Formula One when the series was consolidating its global popularity, Hunt's image was the epitome of the unruly, playboy driver, with a touch of English eccentricity (which included dining with his pet German Shepherd, Oscar, at expensive Mayfair restaurants).[58]
Early in their careers Hunt and Niki Lauda shared a one-bedroom flat in London, and were close friends off the track. Lauda, in his autobiography To Hell and Back, described Hunt as an "open, honest to God pal". Lauda admired Hunt's burst of speed while Hunt envied Lauda's capacity for analysis and rigour.[59] In the spring of 1974, Hunt moved to Spain on the advice of the International Management Group.[60] Whilst living there as a tax exile, Hunt was the neighbour of Jody Scheckter, and they also came to be very good friends, with Hunt giving Scheckter the nickname Fletcher after the crash-prone bird in the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Another close friend was Ronnie Peterson. Peterson was a quiet and shy man, whilst Hunt was exactly the opposite, but their contrasting personalities made them very close off the track. It was Hunt who discovered Gilles Villeneuve, whom he met after being soundly beaten by him in a Formula Atlantic race in 1976. Hunt then arranged for the young Canadian to make his Grand Prix debut with McLaren in 1977.
Hunt's lifestyle was as controversial as some of the events on track: he was associated with a succession of beautiful women; he preferred to turn up to formal functions in bare feet and jeans; he liked to drink, and also used cocaine and marijuana;[61] and he lived an informal life near the beach in Marbella. He was regularly seen attending nightclubs and discos, and was generally the life and soul of the party. Hunt was an expert ball game player, and regularly played squash and tennis. He also played on the Formula One drivers' cricket and football teams and appeared on the BBC's Superstars more than once."



What is there not to like in a personality like that?

 

Sorry alcoholism, drug abuse and womanizing is just not that impressive to me. I read both Donaldson's and Rubython's books hoping to find something, but there was not much offered me something to change my mind. They paint a picture of a very flawed individual that was fighting inner demons most of his short life and only began to pull out of the downward spiral right before he passed away. Hunt's driving while stoned and drunk in practice did not impress me much either. Many of the top athletes have spent time and money on charitable causes, Hunt just could not be bothered. Sorry, I just don't see much there.

 

I saw the interview as well. All he said was that he felt like God was with him and he was with God. Something along the lines of with God everything becomes clear. You can take that however you wish but he never said anything about "God given right to win" or inferred it.
As far as mind games go, I believe he did that because he was really scared of Prost who was a master of such tactics himself.

 

How much more successful would have have been had he taken his profession more seriously? Even Lauda admitted to a bit of messing around back then but Hunt was on a totally different level. He never learned balance. Pity.

 

+1

I think he got it (mostly) together later in the commentary box with Murray - They were *awesome* together!

I guess James was still partying, but the two of them worked on the box!

Cheers,
Ian

 

Well, there's this..The James Hunt You Don't See In RUSH Was An Anti-Apartheid Crusader

Credit where it is due.

 

Unaware of that one, kudos to him for that.

 

In his time, Hunt was a hellraiser who added some colour to Grand Prix.
He wanted to live life to the full, and he did.
Don't forget that he raced in an era where many drivers died every year.
He probably wouldn't fit in F1 now, but many heroes of the past wouldn't either.

 

Clark, Stewart, Fittipaldi, Lauda, Andretti and Villenueve did a better job and did not need to drive stoned and drunk. You have your hero from that period I have those that I admire, difference of opinion,

Cheers.

 

I guess there are different ways to enjoy the same thing.

 

One of the greatest passes of all time.

Trivial question . . . who is the backmarker that they are passing?

BTW, Schuey later said that this was one of the greatest passes he had seen. He said that he went to turn in and Mika was there "out of nowhere."

 

^Zonda, just as Lewis' car which he crashed into a Mercedes nonetheless. This time the Mercedes didn't give him way as usual.

P.s. He was actually Zonta

 

Ricardo Zonta.
I post the link up it's on the BBC if you can get a work round it's well worth a watch..awesome stuff.

Highlights of three classic races from the Formula 1 archives, including the 1982 Austrian Grand Prix and the 1998 and 2000 Belgian Grands Prix.

BBC iPlayer - Formula 1 Rewind - 5. Great Results

 

I have all three on dvd, plus a lot of others. There are not many races I've bothered to copy to dvd since 2006, f1 has been degenerating slowly since those halcyon days