For British people of a particular micro-generation, James Hunt is associated as much with being a commentator with the BBC as being a driver - maybe even more so. His driving career in F1 (or as he genteel-y called it, Grand Prix racing) lasted six years, his commentary career for more than twice that.
It's a lovely second chapter in James's life. After being a championship-winning driver, he found another element of the sport he loved and managed to become an iconic figure at that, too. And most of the reason his commentary career is so well remembered is his legendary partnership with Murray Walker.
(There is scope for a few posts about James's commentary career, and I may come back to it in future to talk about money, or activism, or controversies, but today it's all about James and Murray).
I can't emphasise enough how big a figure Murray Walker is in British F1. He was the unmistakable voice of the sport for decades, commentating on every race from 1976-2001 (though he worked full-time in a regular person job until the early 80s). He was a huge character who lived a long life and was revered by fans, not in spite of his quirks and limitations but because of them. His screw ups on the mic were legendary to the point that he was nicknamed Muddly Talker (Mike Doodson, writing about their partnership in Motorsport magazine, blames James for that one, and he was a chronic nicknamer). Murray commentated alongside Martin Brundle later in his career, but it's the Murray Walker and James Hunt partnership that's considered the golden age of F1 commentary in Britain.
It's telling that no one was permanently recruited to James's vacant role after he died; Murray returned to commentating solo for years, with occasional guests, before working with Martin Brundle.
Because Murray and James had something special.
Which included wine, an almost-punch-up, refusing to share notes, some swearing, endless complaints, quite a few lies, a sneaky joint, and ultimately, mutual respect and genuine fondness.
James's first experience of commentary was at the Monaco Grand Prix in 1980. His leg was in plaster after a skiing accident, and he famously, according to Murray, arrived
"...in his frayed denim shorts, his shoeless feet, his right leg in a cast from ankle to crutch, and clasping a litre of rosé. I won’t go so far as to say he was drunk but he was, well, full.
He then proceeds to put his plaster cast in my lap and get stuck into the rosé. God knows why, but our producer actually sent out for a second litre bottle halfway through the race. It all made for a pretty difficult situation. But James had the knack of surviving incidents like that."
From that start, it was hard to believe they would become so iconic.
The BBC only gave them one mic, so they couldn't talk over each other. This meant a *lot* of arguments and fights over it. From time to time, both James and Murray would separately approach their boss, Jonathan Martin, to complain the other one was hogging the mic. Jonathan would promise to talk to the alleged hog, would do nothing, and then the complainant would come and thank him and say the problem had got much better. There's a lesson in there somewhere.
Murray Walker, Mike Doodson and James Hunt
In a radio interview, Murray told this story:
"I was standing up and James was sitting down and I was giving it plenty.
James saw the old boy had been talking long enough and he gave the microphone wire a terrific tug. The microphone flew out of my hands and into his.
I had my fists back to give him a fourpenny one because I was absolutely incandescent with rage."
Luckily, the producer caught Murray's attention and gestured at him not to hit James, and he didn't.
Murray also points out in a lot of interviews about James that they belonged to different generations. Murray was born in 1923 and James in 1947; they literally could have been father and son.
Murray was known for being high-energy, wild and excitable. James, in his commentary career, was much more chill. Murray spent the entire weekend roaming the paddock for information; James sat in the Marlboro motorhome and waited for gossip to come to him. Murray felt that as a non-racing driver, he had no right to criticise drivers in his commentating. James criticised everyone - so much so that he had to apologise to drivers on air from time to time. I love one clip of James apologising to Senna with Murray beside him like a dad bringing his son to say sorry for breaking a window. James does not consider this interaction to require a shirt.
(I can't find a non-Meta link for it, but if you google "James hunt Senna apology" and select video results, it should be the second one)
Some of James and Murray's best moments together:
James swearing
"Flames!!"
James teaching Murray to drive an F1 car
There is a long video on YouTube (well, 12 minutes plus) of Murray and James discussing the 1992 season before it began. Sadly this would be the last season James would witness in its entirety. I think it's worth a look because in my opinion, it shows James at his best. At this point in his life he was in a committed and happy relationship with Helen Dyson, he was an involved father with his sons, he wasn't misusing alcohol (he does have a glass of wine in this video, but he wasn't drinking to excess in his final years) and he had fully settled into a respected role as an expert and commentator. It also shows the deep mutual respect and liking that had grown between James and Murray.
As James died while their partnership was ongoing, he isn't on record reflecting or speaking about it much, so we don't really know firsthand how he felt about Murray. It is fair to guess that his feelings were extremely warm, since Murray was asked to speak at James's memorial service. It feels like the close people planning the service would have only invited people to speak who were important to James.
Murray participated in a documentary about James, called The Real James Hunt, which has a lot of flaws. The documentary used Murray's quote about his impression of James during his racing days (not good) and didn't use the rest of the interview. Murray complained about this publicly, saying it misrepresented his opinion of James by only featuring his impression from before he and James worked together. He also felt the documentary downplayed James's commentary career. I wrote about that documentary here, before I knew anything about Murray's feelings on it, and my impressions at the time are pretty much the same as Murray's. Murray was on good terms with James's sons until his own death, so luckily it's fair to assume no one close to James was upset by what Murray said on camera.
Murray's final tribute to James is lovely, but be warned, it is sad to watch. I think it shows how Murray had genuinely come to like James as well as respect him, and that there was real grief when he died. The grief of a friend.
Ronnie Peterson after his last win at the Austrian Grand Prix 1978.
An article about Ronnie Peterson written by his friend and the author of Ronnie’s and Gunnar Nilsson’s joint autobiography. Found in the classic Swedish youth sports-book “The Sport Today” from 1979 (see pictures after article).
Do excuse any grammatical errors, English is not my first language, and pleae ignore the weird formatting as I only have access to the mobile version of Tumblr right now. “(italics)” is my own clarifications of things.
Article below:
He never got to be world champion…
“Someone up there must like me, “
said Ronnie Peterson once when he got into the pits after a violent crash.
Someone had their eyes closed the 10’th of September.
Ronnie's workplace was the worlds all racing tracks and his tool was a black thoroughbred racer. He did not have a care for the glamorous life around the track.
“ It is a necessary evil. You have to parade for the sponsor that has invited all the local high animals. You stand there like a damn exhibition project and you do not have much to talk about with them either. “
When things went well for Ronnie he wrote autographs until the pen glowed. When things went bad he crawled into a corner in the black housebus that was his second home. Outside his admirers stood and yelled: Peterson, Peterson.
“ Sometimes it is a bit too much with all this attention. It is almost insane what an interest there is. Do you see those two girls who are standing a bit alone? They are two french girls who hang around at every european race. I have named them The Shadows because they are always hanging around me. One time I gave them a lift to the hotel and I do not think I have ever seen happier people. “
Together with his two mechanics Bobby and Rexy he worked to get the car as perfect as possible. Rexy, who worked together with Ronnie when he drove for Lotus the first time said:
“There are few drivers who engage in the sport so wholehearthily as Ronnie. He swore high and loudly when the practice was over and the car was not as he wanted it to be. “
It was not just the cars that was Ronnie's big life. When he saw something with a motor he wanted to try it. I remember one time at the home of Mario Andretti, two years ago (1976). We were up at his country house where the garage was filled with all kinds of things. Six-wheeled cars, motorbikes with gigantic wheels, jet-waterskis. Ronnie's eyes lit up, like he was a kid at Christmas.
“ Can I try them?” asked Ronnie.
“Go ahead!” said Mario.
The playing had to stop when it got too dark. Ronnie was completely wiped out when he sank into a chair and said:
“I have not had this much fun in years and days. Where can I get these? I have to have some back home in England. “
In Brazil he drove a powerboat with full speed. We others held the railing with an iron grip while the waves crashed over us. Ronnie stod way forward at the helm and steered. The wind played in his hair and a smile went from ear to ear,
“Are you scared? This is so much fun! “
A debut that was noticed
Ronnie made his debut in Formula 1 1970 in a March in Monaco and finished 7’th. A result that echoed throughout the world of motorsport. Three years later he wrote a contract with maybe the most legendary team in the sport: Lotus.
In the beginning of 1976 he left the team after disagreements with the team boss Colin Chapman and returned to March. The season was a big disappointment and he only won one race: Monza!
In 1977 Ronnie hopped over to Tyrrell to drive its sixwheeled creature that had been very successful the year before. There was a big press conference in London and Ken Tyrrell was very satisfied about having Ronnie in his team.
“ He is one of the greatest drivers in the world and I have promised to give him a winning car this year. “
Unfortunately Tyrrell could not fulfill his promise and Ronnie had to, for the second year in a row, retire in race after race. To the outside he held his mask but inside he was very disappointed. The newspapers topped the sport section every 14’th day with the headlines: “Ronnie retired again. Ronnie are you finished now? “ Ronnie swallowed the critique but from time to time he lost it.
“Those idiots do not have a clue what they are writing about. They sit on their fat arses back home in Sweden. No one ever comes to a race and tried to see what is actually happening. Things that do not hold up, a car that is barely able to stay on track e t c. Nobody shall accuse me of not doing my best or driving too hard, so that the parts do not hold up. It is lucky that you always can read the labour union-magazines, so that you can get a little comfort in all this misery. “
When Ronnie went over to Lotus this year and the successes began to drizzle heavily he yet again became a main headline in the newspapers. When the journalists started showing up during the races and wanted exclusive interviews his usual line was:
“Oh really. Am I now good enough again? “
Ronnie drove as second driver to Mario Andretti this year and many wondered how he could agree with that.
“It is actually a weird situation that you are in,” said Ronnie several times. “You have to do your best to make everyone happy and yet you just get scolded. “
Plotting in the pits
Ronnies wife Barbro was almost always in the pits, working as a timekeeper for the team (left). Team boss Colin Chapman has always had the best drivers you can get. Above, Ronnie, Chapman and Mario Andretti. Together the drivers and Lotus cars are making sure the team soon passes the historic Ferrari team in amount of GP-wins. Many have criticized Chapman for putting the wins ahead of the safety of the drivers. They said the same after the crash in Monza.
(This is a direct translation of the pictures description)
In the start it was Andretti who totally dominated but when Ronnie had made himself comfortable he quickly took over that role. The team did almost everything to hinder Ronnie's success. Worse tires and halffilled tanks were some ‘tricks’.
“It is actually a weird situation that you are in,” said Ronnie several times. “You have to do your best to make everyone happy and yet you just get scolded. “
The war of the stars escalated more and more and reached its peak in Austria.
The practice session had been cut short because of some parachutists on their way down, Ronnie’s gearbox broke and he was thankful for the break. The clouds lay heavy over the track and Ronnie clasped his hands in a silent prayer that it would start raining. His prayers were answered and it just poured down. After a while it stopped and the cars started going out on track one after another. Ronnie went out to try his new gearbox and went back to the pits after just one lap. Chapman rushed forward to hear how slippery it was.
“It is like glass out there,” said Ronnie. “I will stay in for a while until it has dried up. “
Chapman ran over to Andretti who sat in his own car and waited. They agreed to wait a little more.
Ronnie sat in his car and stared up at the dark sky and hoped for the best. The ones out on track started slowing down. Andretti gave his sign to the mechanics and they started the engine. In the same moment the rain started again and the pits were flooded.
Ronnie winked at his mechanics and hopped out of the car with a smile.
“ Like attracts like. They have been nasty towards me so many times so now it was my turn. It was not as slippery as I said, but why would I be nice to them?”
Ronnie was very popular with his mechanics and they did everything for him to win. Nigel Bennet, the chief for Ronnie's car, ignored given orders. Little Bobby did not pump out the gas like he had gotten ordered to at the race in South Africa and Ronnie won.
“Of course it feels a bit nasty to keep doing this sometimes, said Ronnie once. But this is the rules of the game. I have signed a contract and I have to follow it. I am not alone with this. John Watson in the Brabham-team for example, is sitting in the exact same seat as me. Motorsport has been the same throughout all the years. Just look at Fangio and Moss when they drove for Mercedes all those years ago. How it is in a cycle! There you really find the system with a star and a helping hand. I am looking forward. Mario is probably quitting after he has won his title and then I will take over as conductor. “
Ronnie was not a person of big words and sometimes he had trouble expressing what he wanted to say. He was shy, and that was often interpersonal as snobbishness. He, like many other drivers in Formula One, often got the question “Is it worth it to do this?”
“This is what I have fought for so many years and this is what I want to do. The day you start getting scared it is time to quit, “was Ronnie's answer.
Niki Lauda probably expressed it even better in an interview a couple years ago.
“ It is a fight between the human and the machine. All of us that are doing this are perhaps fanatics. We want to get better and better all the time. Sometines we maybe drive ‘on the limit’ but we never take any chances, just calculated risks. None of us want to die. We drive for the satisfaction it gives us. Some people collect paintings. We drive as fast as possible. When I quit I would like to fly jumbo-jets and land in places that nobody has landed before. Just for the sake of the challenge. “
It is probably a thought that has crossed the minds of most of the people with a work where you constantly challenge faith. The mountain climber that has to get up on the world's highest mountain, the circus artist hanging high above the ring — everyone wants to get better and push the limit even further forward. Money and glory is not that important. You compete against yourself and against the machine and the outsiders interpretations and analyses are not of interest.
“Sure there are easier ways to make money, said Ronnie once. But that is not what it is about. I want to be the best. “
Formula One is the heavyweight class in motorsport. That is where almost everyone in the sport set their sights on, all these enthusiasts across the entire world, that are willing to sacrifice everything for their sport.
To ban the motorsport, because it IS a sport, is to ban a lifestyle!
Here are the original pages and the cover of the book:
(There is actually a fourth picture on the page with all the pictures, but I found it so upsetting I did not want to include it. I can vaguely describe it as about Ronnies accident. )
Frederik af Petersens is a very good sports journalist and author. He seems to get the sides of people you don’t usually see. For example it was kind of fun to read about Ronnie swearing at the journalists.. He got some very good quotes and sentences too. “They said the same after the crash in Monza. “, put a pit in my stomach. Eugh.
If you have read this far, against all odds, you will know that now several new Ronnie chronicles await! None more from 1972 and none from 1973 or 1978 but at least one from every year in-between. I do not know when they will be published because Tumblr is hating me at the moment. It kept eating all the editing I made and made me begin from scratch over and over again.
Thanks to the amazing @p1pipypy I have also gotten my hands on several interviews and articles about/with Gunnar Nilsson! They will be prioritized over Ronnie’s chronicles as there is a vast lack of information about him on Tumblr…
As always thank you for reading, if you notice anything wrong or have anything I can improve on please tell me!
ESPN's "How do you pronounce your name?" segment, 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix
feat. Michele Alboreto, Ivan Capelli, Mauricio Gugelmin, Derek Warwick, Philippe Alliot, Nelson Piquet, Jean Alesi, Emanuele Pirro, Ayrton Senna (da Silva), Alain Prost and Christm- Christian Danner
My language settings here just turned chinese for no reason and I am having a very hard time turning it back as it keeps on turning into chinese. The Tumblr app has also been very laggy recently and my notifications are all messed up.
Just know that if I post or reblog something I really don't usually do it might not be me!!!
I went for a short swim in the Rhine. Then I went to the lido; nobody noticed, because it's forbidden for civilians. I kept my resolution not to smoke. It's actually funny, I still don't have a girlfriend, sometimes I have to laugh, not many sensible girls around either. Did a lot of stupid things. Met Bob, rode my bikes through Godesberg for fun, following two girls, for hours with growing enthusiasm. Then I turned Bob's car upside down in front of the p***phile's house, steered it by the tires. It's pretty warm in my room again.
my short biographical comic, Jochen Mass in Formula 1, is finished and ready to view here. completely human-drawn, written, and designed with love and the utmost respect! (^///^)
The Swedish contingent, in about 1970. Reine Wisell, Ronnie Peterson, Jo Bonnier.
Reine is looking quite restrained today, with his big collar the only extravagance in his outfit.
More evidence that Jo Bonnier was/is a Time Lord: it is 1970 or thereabouts, and he is wearing suspiciously straight-legged, modern-cut jeans, not the flared slacks the other two have on. Add to this the non-1970s cropped hair and goatee.
He should really look like Ronnie does. The anorak is fooling no-one.
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