James Hunt is a racing driver from United Kingdom who last raced in Formula 1 for Wolf. Hunt is a one-time champion (1976), with 10 wins and 23 podiums from 93 starts.[1]
A Racer Rating of 4,930 ranks Hunt 361th of 15,348 indexed drivers, on an Elo scale where the strongest reach the low five figures. It is built from every indexed race in the driver's file, decayed for time since their last race.
| 1979-05-27 | Circuit de Monaco | DNF | −126 |
| 1979-05-13 | Zolder | DNF | −3 |
| 1979-04-29 | Jarama | DNF | −98 |
| 1979-04-08 | Long Beach | DNF | −110 |
| 1979-03-03 | Kyalami | P8 | +56 |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Podiums | DNFs | Poles | Points | Pos | Gain/Loss | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | ▸Formula 1 | Wolf | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | P22 | −399 | 5,059 |
| 1978 | ▸Formula 1 | McLaren | 16 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 8 | P13 | −624 | 5,458 |
| 1977 | ▸Formula 1 | McLaren | 17 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 40 | P5 | −153 | 6,082 |
| 1976 | ▸Formula 1 | McLaren | 16 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 69 | P1 | +683 | 6,236 |
| 1975 | ▸Formula 1 | Hesketh | 14 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 33 | P4 | +593 | 5,553 |
| 1974 | ▸Formula 1 | Hesketh | 15 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 15 | P8 | −209 | 4,960 |
| 1973 | ▸Formula 1 | March | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 | P8 | +368 | 5,168 |
| Rival | Rating | Raced | Ahead | Behind | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇭 Clay Regazzoni | 5,253 | 31 | 24 | 7 | 77% |
| 🇦🇷 Carlos Reutemann | 5,765 | 29 | 19 | 10 | 66% |
| 🇧🇷 Emerson Fittipaldi | 3,999 | 29 | 15 | 14 | 52% |
| 🇿🇦 Jody Scheckter | 5,599 | 27 | 18 | 9 | 67% |
| 🇦🇹 Niki Lauda | 5,364 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 48% |
| 🇩🇪 Jochen Mass | 5,075 | 26 | 23 | 3 | 88% |
| 🇸🇪 Ronnie Peterson | 5,168 | 24 | 13 | 11 | 54% |
| 🇫🇷 Patrick Depailler | 5,068 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 63% |
| 🇬🇧 John Watson | 5,367 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 77% |
| 🇺🇸 Mario Andretti | 4,978 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 57% |
James Hunt was a British Formula 1 driver who raced from 1973 to 1979 and won the 1976 World Drivers' Championship with McLaren. Across 93 starts over seven seasons, Hunt recorded 10 wins and 23 podiums, averaging a finishing position of P4.2 when classified. He was a front-running professional driver whose Racer Rating of 4,930 places him in the upper tier of competitive single-seater racing. Hunt competed predominantly for Wolf and McLaren, with his strongest campaign producing his sole championship title.[1]
Hunt's head-to-head record against his most frequent rivals reveals a competitive middle-order career. Against Clay Regazzoni, Carlos Reutemann, and Jody Scheckter, all drivers rated above 5,500, Hunt finished ahead in the majority of their shared races but did not dominate. His record against Niki Lauda, a three-time champion rated 5,364, was evenly split at 13 finishes ahead and 14 behind across 27 races. He also raced wheel-to-wheel with two other three-time champions, beating Jackie Stewart once and posting a losing head-to-head against Emerson Fittipaldi over 29 shared encounters. Against Jochen Mass, however, Hunt struggled markedly, finishing ahead only three times in 26 races. These patterns show Hunt as a capable driver in a field of strong professionals rather than a dominant force beyond his championship year.[2]
Hunt retired from Formula 1 at the end of 1979 after a final season that yielded no wins or podiums across seven rounds, finishing 22nd in the standings. His career in the sport ended at age 31, having competed during an era that included multiple world champions and established professionals across the grid.