Original subtitles

[Sound of racing - Music]

Narrator: Twenty-five cars line up to start the last Grand Prix

of the most extraordinary season of the history of Formula One.

Announcer: This is the clincher, the world championship

decider of the climax--

Narrator: As heavy rain pours down, two drivers prepare for

the race that will decide which one of them

becomes world champion.

Announcer: James Hunt in the McLaren, Niki Lauda in the

Ferrari. The flag is down, they're off!

Narrator: The two men could not be more different.

Britain's James Hunt is a fast, flamboyant showman who parties

as hard as he races.

James is the driver of all time.

The gentleman driver, the flamboyant, that has the nature

of talent to go fast in a car.

Tell us what happened.

There's a race going on, dear boy.

Narrator: His rival is the steamy Austrian, Niki Lauda, who

drives with cold, hard logic.

Niki was the scientist, the counterpoint, he was the

ultimate, the first, really, really technical driver.

[Racing sounds]

Announcer: This is the story of Formula One's legendary battle,

told by those who witnessed it firsthand.

James got out of the car, pulled off his crash helmet,

started to rant and rave at them.

They are no friends.

Basically, they are trying to win, and friendship is not the

case.

Announcer: Now, wheel to wheel.

The tension was just amazing.

They all think they're the quickest.

They can't imagine that they're not the fastest racing driver in

the world.

His face was in a mask of blood, and you think, my god,

how can he race.

Narrator: With previously unseen footage and exclusive

interviews, this film charts the epic duel that changed

the lives of both men, and the sport, forever.

You couldn't make it up.

You could not make up the season, it was just

unbelievable.

[Racing sounds - wreck sounds - dramatic music]

Event Announcer: This is going to be a fantastic race!

[Music- fans chanting]

Narrator: Fans line the streets to see Austrian Niki Lauda

crowned world champion of 1975.

Lauda drives a Ferrari, the greatest racing car constructor

in the world.

But Lauda's thoughts and those of his team are already turning

to next season.

Ferrari's team manager, Daniele Audetto, is confident that Lauda

will retain his crown in 1976.

Niki Lauda was a very professional driver.

He can see the strategy, he can really understand when was the

moment to push a little bit more, a little bit less, and was

very fast, extremely fast and so consistent.

[70's stye music]

Narrator: But in Britain, a new challenger has emerged.

James Hunt has signed for the British team McLaren.

Hunt is better known for his romantic exploits

than his driving.

McLaren team manager, Alastair Caldwell had his reservations

about Hunt joining the team.

The '76 season got off to a very interesting start for us.

James didn't even have a drive and we didn't have a driver, so

we were thrown into bed with him.

He rang me up and said, I think I'm your new driver, and I said,

I guess you are.

One of the first things we noticed that when the car was

switched off on the grid, he was so wound up, the whole car was

shaking with his nervous energy.

He was always competitive, and always very focused on something

he wanted to do, be it budgerigars as a teenager, or

train sets or scalex tricks or something, as a small boy.

James was a sportsman, through and through.

He never played team games, his sports were all solitary, and he

was very single-minded, and he knew what he wanted, he wanted

to be world champion.

[70's style music]

Narrator: The 1976 season consisted of 16 races over 10

months, running from January to October at locations

across the world. Ferrari and McLaren were

the leading contenders.

Ferrari are my arch enemies, Daniele Audetto was their team

manager, so I was at war with him.

Ferrari is easily much bigger, much longer than McLaren.

We could compete with them on money, but we could compete with

them on style, and we can compete with them in efficiency.

They were a lot bigger team, and they were incredibly Italian.

I think we respect each other professionally, but I don't have

a beer with him in the pub, if you want an example.

Race one is in the scorching heat of the Interlagos Circuit

in Brazil.

In the thick of the action is pit lane reporter, Peter

Windsor.

In the distance, you'd hear an engine note and four minutes

later, the car would reach you and all four wheels would be off

the ground, and you'd think, wow, this is Formula One.

Narrator: Lauda has seen off Hunt's challenge, he collects

nine points to start building his score.

Point scoring system was disarmingly simple.

Nine points for a win, six for second, four for third, down to

sixth place where you got one point.

We didn't know it was gonna become so complicated.

Narrator: Lauda knows how to get the best out of his team.

Niki Lauda had really learned how to make Ferrari

work for him.

An awful lot of drivers, very good drivers, went to Ferrari

and never quite made it work.

It had a terrifying presence of Enzo Ferrari, with his dark

glasses, looming over the whole thing.

[Speaking in foreign language]

Narrator: After nearly five decades in motor racing, the

78-year-old Enzo Ferrari rules his family business

with an iron fist.

If you win with them, Ferrari's Ferrari.

A completely different ball game than all the British teams of

the time.

When you lose, you get a lot of pressure.

So, in Ferrari, you always had the winning and staying or

losing and losing the job.

[Music]

Narrator: And Lauda delivers, pulling further and further and

further ahead of Hunt with every race.

But at the fourth round at Spain, Lauda has worrying news

for Audetto.

Daniele, you have a problem.

What happened?

I fell out from my tractor in my house in my garden, and I broke

two or three ribs.

I said, my god, two or three ribs?

[Engine reving]

James had this approach to it all which was well, he's no

problem, halfway through the race, his ribs are gonna give up

and I'll pass him and win the race.

That's exactly what happened.

[Music]

His first win for McLaren.

You're still extremely fast, how do you do it?

Big balls.

[Music]

Narrator: But Hunt's victory is short-lived.

In the scrutiniring area afterwards, there was this

unheard of situation, really, where the car was disqualified,

and that was something that nobody in Formula One was really

prepared for.

Narrator: Teams were allowed to modify thier car to suit each

circuit, but they must work within strict regulations.

One centimeter in a Formula One car makes such a

big difference.

Narrator: In Spain, Hunt's car had been found to be just over

a centimeter too wide.

Before the race, the car was measured by the organizers, and

every day, they didn't say anything.

And I'm pretty sure they were talking to Ferrari because there

was a bit of a kindred spirit there, the Spanish-speaking,

Catholic country and the Ferrari was saying shh, don't, keep it,

say nothing.

I was never involved with the scrutiniring, I was involved

with my scrutiniring with my cars that they weren't, that my

car respect under the same rules, otherwise Ferrari

kill me.

Narrator: Hunt's points are given to Lauda, and it looks

like McLaren will leave Spain empty-handed.

We immediately appealed because we thought the penalty

didn't fit the crime, it was like being hung for stealing a

loaf of bread.

They pretend in the appeal to say that this difference was not

affecting the performance of the car.

Bullshit.

Had you any idea the car might be thrown out?

No, I didn't know, I just drive the damn thing.

Narrator: Although their teams are at war, both drivers are

trying to steer clear of politics, but despite their

different characters, their passion for racing is a bond.

Well, Niki, he spent time in our pits, was always visiting

us, and his grasp of English was very good.

And he was always known as The Rat, because he looked

like a rat.

So, he was called Rat to his face.

James said, hello, Rat.

They meshed well because they weren't actually directly in

competition from looks.

So, there are no friends.

They are all trying to win, and friendship is not the case, but

some guys are more sympathetic than the others, and James was

certainly one I would drink a beer after a race, because he

was a nice guy.

Even high competition amongst each other, but James was one of

the better ones.

[Music]

Narrator: The wild side of 70's Formula One is revealed in this

recently discovered footage of an after-race party.

Hunt is the star, with Lauda in the wings.

For sure Niki was in awe of James's good looks

and personality.

James was the good-looking playboy and Niki was the small

Austrian who looked like a rat.

They were good friends, though on the race track, of course no

chord are given because that's the, you know, the race driver

persona can change completely once on the race track all of

this is forgotten.

All successful racing drivers are invested with an

enormous ego.

They all think they're the quickest.

They can't imagine that they're not the fastest racing driver in

the world.

To admit to anything else but that would be ludicrous.

Niki and James both thought they were the best racing driver in

the world.

Narrator: As the season approaches halfway, and even

when the points from Spain are reinstated, it's Lauda who still

dominates with double Hunt's points.

[Music]

Anouncer: This is Brands Hatch, just outside London in the Kent

countryside, and today is British Grand Prix day.

The biggest day on Britain's motorsport calendar.

Narrator: The race is sold out.

Britain is in [unintelligible]

A record 80,000 spectators fill the circuit and all eyes are on

one man.

There is drama right from the start.

Clay Regazzoni managed to drive into the back wheel of

Lauda, so the two Ferraris actually collided, complete

mayhem began.

James's car landed on the left front corner, but being

a McLaren, it didn't brake, and being James with two pints of

adrenaline, he didn't stop, he charged off with the front

wheels splayed out, like this.

Announcer: Drivers who escaped the pileup are

soon flagged down and the race called to a halt.

James was immediately thinking, I've got to get back

to the pits and have the car mended.

I never hit anybody.

I stopped on the left, and next car came piling into me.

Tell us what happened.

There's a race going on, dear boy.

Narrator: The race has ground to a complete halt.

The organizers want to restart immediately, but Hunt's damaged

car is not on the grid.

And in the chaos in the pit road, he comes running up to me,

I said, what's the car like?

He said, oh, the car's destroyed, the car's a

write-off.

I wandered down to have a look at the racecar and realized the

racecar was repairable, that James's explanation that it was

a write-off was not true.

Narrator: Caldwell and McLaren will have to act quickly, there

are only minutes to spare.

It was thought that James Hunt would not be allowed to take the

restart, and the crowd got behind James as a driver they

wanted to see in that restart in a way that you don't see

outside a soccer match.

[Audience clapping in unison

The slow handclap which ran from the start/finish line all

the way up to Paddock Bend and all the way around South Bank

and round to Westfield Bend, and then it became boos and then it

became catcalls.

[Audience chanting, "We want Hunt!"]

Then, the marshals had to rush onto the track to pick up beer

cans and coke cans and even bottles.

I've never seen at a motor race quite such an extraordinary

display from the public.

We want James Hunt, we want James Hunt, it was a mini riot

that was going on, which was not very British.

McLaren were delighted that there was this confusion and

delay because it gave them a little bit more time to mend

James Hunt's car.

Anouncer: When they return to the grid, the crowd goes wild.

Now, James Hunt is certain to start again.

Well, Ferraris, you could see their faces fell because they

knew instantly what had happened, that we had

fixed the racecar.

And what I remember most of all, actually, in all that, is

Niki Lauda in a rage, getting back into his car, because he's

suddenly realized how much time had passed and that McLaren had

had time to repair their racecar again and get it onto the grid,

and he was absolutely livid.

Anouncer: Back to the grid, and off they go again.

Narrator: After another chaotic start, Lauda storms ahead, with

Hunt chasing hard on his tail.

[Racing sounds]

Announcer: The battle is really on now between Niki Lauda

and James Hunt.

Niki Lauda in the Ferrari leading James Hunt, cheered on

by the British crowd, gradually winding him in.

As we went past half distance, cars go round Paddock Bend, down

to the bottom of the hill, up the hill and behind the tree, as

the cars then came back into our sight, the McLaren was in front.

[Music]

And that's when the crowd erupted.

[Music - Audience cheering]

Announcer: James Hunt wins the British Grand Prix.

And we did win the British Grand Prix fair and square.

James, how much does this victory mean to you?

Nine points, $20,000 and a lot of happiness.

How remarkable--

Can you give me a cigarette?

Can I grab that cigarette off you?

Thanks.

[Cheering]

Narrator: But Ferrari is about to spoil the party.

I think Ferrari appealed straight away after the race

that we didn't comply with the rules.

We couldn't work out what current rule they thought we

hadn't complied.

The rule says, and I am surprised but not surprised that

Alastair doesn't know what the rules, that is another example,

no?

That you have to complete the racecourse even if the race is

suspended.

Narrator: Instead of completing the lap as the race was stopped,

Hunt had taken a shortcut back to the pits.

In cutting behind the Paddock, he didn't complete the race

distance, simple in that.

Narrator: For now, the race winning points are Hunt's, but

the result hangs in the balance, waiting on a hearing scheduled

for months later.

[Chopping sound of helicopter blades]

Narrator: he next race is at the notorious Nürburgring

in Germany.

The Nürburgring was a frightening, but fantastic

racetrack.

It's 14.7 miles around, goes up and down thousands of feet, it's

got hundreds of corners, it was just a hostile direct to fast

racing cars, which is part of its appeal.

Every time I see this it frightens me, because there's no

barriers on the right-hand side, there's just a rock face and

trees.

I think if I were to walk along it then I would be horrified,

I'd never drive around the place again.

A quick glance at the green, you probably experience more in 7

minutes and 6 or 7 seconds than most people have experienced in

all of their life.

It was a pre-health and safety era.

Motor racing was dangerous, it said so on the back of every

ticket, and it was part of what it was.

Narrator: Nearly every year in Formula One,

a driver had been killed.

By this stage, I'd lost a brother in a racing car

accident. So, after that, I thought, I won't

befriend racing drivers, I'll have them as people who work

for me, but I won't become their friend, because I don't want

to go to their funeral as a

friend, I want to go to the funeral as their team manager.

Narrator: For Lauda, the ring isn't worth the risk.

He calls a meeting of drivers in an attempt to have it

stopped, but his fellow drivers don't agree.

He loses by one vote, and now has no choice but to race.

Sunday before the race, I walked to the Paddock up to the

pits, and there was an autograph guy, German guy who wanted an

autograph, which was normal and I signed the autograph for him,

and he said, put the date on there, which nobody ever said

before to me, and I said, why the hell do you want the date?

Because it could be the last one.

Narrator: For the first time in the season, it is raining on

race day, but the track is so long that not all of it is wet.

The choice of tires will be crucial.

Wet tires, they're quite tall, they've got big tread on them

like a road tire, unlike the slicks, which are smooth, no

tread at all.

[Engines reving]

Like, most of the field, Lauda starts the race on wet weather

tires, but quickly discovers he's losing too much speed on

every dry section of the track.

After the first lap, many drivers come into the pits to

change the tires, it was really chaos.

The pit stop was a little bit slow, and when Niki started for

the second lap with the sleek, he was about maybe in

tenth position.

For a driver, it is not good, psychologically, to go race in a

sleek on a track that is too dangerous because it puts you in

a condition that you are afraid.

When he restart on the second lap, he was not the "cool Niki"

that we know.

I went out of the pits, then I drove about 18 kilometers around

the circuit and then I crashed.

[Dramati music]

[Squeeling tires]

Narrator: His helmet comes off in the impact,

and he is trapped in a fire burning over

400 degrees centigrade.

It will be nearly a minute

before Lauda is pulled from the flames.

[Dramatic music]

I have no memory of the accident at all because I hit so

hard, and I was on fire so long that there's no memory

whatsoever, it's blocked out, and the memory came

back in the first hospital, or second hospital.

[Thematic sounds]

Narrator: Amongst the drivers who arrived just after the crash

is James Hunt.

We weren't aware that Niki was in trouble because there were

racing drivers at the scene, and he was conscious and talking to

everybody, so when drivers came back to the pits and said, oh,

Niki's burnt, but he's okay, he's fine.

Narrator: With the track cleared, the race

is restarted, and Hunt is victorious.

He's now just 14 points behind Lauda.

Then the news came through that he was gravely ill, so,

yeah, just cast a shadow over the whole thing.

[Dramatic notes]

I can remember it now, I remember thinking, he isn't

gonna live.

And I felt absolutely horrendous.

I felt like the bottom had fallen out of my world.

When we arrived at the hospital, Niki was little by

little losing conscious.

[Dramatic notes]

Narrator: Whilst Lauda battles for his life, Ferrari are

already looking for another driver.

So, I was speaking with Ferrari all the time about the

accident, and Ferrari said to me, you know, Ferrari will live

with or without Niki.

You don't need to stay in the hospital, you know, we need you

to go back and find another driver, because if Nikki will

not drive, Ferrari will not stop.

Narrator: Once he had been the protégé of Enzo Ferrari, but for

Enzo, giving up on the world championship is not an option.

Press and the public like to concentrate on the drivers being

the most important member of the team, but it's not at all.

The drivers are very much replaceable.

And the unfortunate idea of the two McLaren drivers being

involved in a motorway accident together and dying, do you think

that their team would be on the back row of the grid in

the next race?

No, they won't be, because they'll just hire two more hot

shoes and they'll be right up there.

[Racing sounds]

Narrator: Hunt takes full advantage in the next two races,

closing the gap to just two points.

Lauda has second and third degree burns to his face and

hands, part of his scalp has been burnt away.

He has lost half of one ear and his lungs are barely working.

But I suddenly was aware of through the accident, how

quickly you can die.

I remember my wife coming and she burst in tears, so she was

very much affected when she saw me there, and I said, shit, you

know, if she's crying then I must be in a bad state.

But in racing, the risk and taking chances was exactly the

same as it was before because this was part of the game.

[Group chatter]

Announcer: Just 40 days after doctors had given up hope, and a

priest had knelt at his bedside, the Austrian

ace climbed back into the cockpit of his glaring red

Ferrari. His friends and colleagues claim that

his miracle recovery had

more to do with his iron will than with master surgery.

Narrator: With 5 races left and everything still to play for,

Lauda is back.

Niki Lauda was recovering so fast that he proposed to Ferrari

to race him at Manza.

And Ferrari said, no, don't, because if we lose the

championship in the end of the year, you don't start so early

because then we can say you had an accident.

And this was exactly the opposite what I was thinking.

Narrator: At Lauda's side is his wife, Marlene, who has been with

him throughout his recovery, but Manza is the last place she

wants him to be.

[Crowd chanting]

Narrator: Manza, Italy, home to Ferrari and their fans.

After coming within seconds of being burnt to death, Lauda

returns to a hero's welcome.

When we went to Manza, the focus was on Niki, 110%.

We took him inside the garage, he took out the balaclava, and

it was really, his face was a mask of blood and they said, my

god, how can he race?

[Thematic notes]

It was pouring with rain on his return.

This is the Nürburgring carrying on, almost.

You know, the gloom of the Nürburgring.

Is there any psychological aftereffects from this accident

for you at all?

No, I don't think so.

Everything looks good.

Narrator: Lauda prepares to go back on the track to race

against the clock for his place on the starting line.

The pressure was on.

The Ferrari called, should they race, should they not race?

It was huge pressure on me for that particular race.

Narrator: The physical scars have begun to heal,

but the mental ones run deeper.

I came to the circuit, wanted to drive, but couldn't drive.

And then, suddenly, I was hit by the whole four weeks, accident

problems, all these kind of things, and I just

couldn't drive.

So, I did one slow lap, went back into the pit, I said, I go

back there and then drive for myself.

[Thematic music with racing sounds]

[Thematic music with racing sounds]

And at the end of the day, I was the quickest Ferrari, and

was right back like before.

Narrator: Just before the race begins, Hunt's team, McLaren,

are having problems of their own.

Their fuel has been ruled to be illegal.

We were made to pump the fuel out of their cars, fill up with

standard fuel at the racetrack and start on the back

of the grid.

So, we were shafted by the Italians.

But this is very, they're very good at this.

So, the Italian Mafioso managed to get us on the back row

of the grid.

How was it feeling, fighting against Niki again?

Hard work.

When he first met him, James said straight away, he said,

Niki, you're the only person I know who can be in a fire and

come out better looking.

For Niki, this race is life or death, you know.

I finish and go in the points, or I lose the championship

here in Manza.

Narrator: Stuck at the back of the grid, Hunt makes a charge on

the first lap, but as he tries to fight his

way through, he almost immediately spins

out of the race.

[Audience cheering]

Announcer: The Italian crowd cheers for only two things

today, the Ferrari party, or their most serious

challenger to the world championship in trouble.

Here, it is the latter.

Poor James, he didn't enjoy the walk back past the

Italian fans.

Well, actually, thinking about it, knowing James,

he probably loved it.

Lauda's wife, Marlene could only watch.

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

Incredibly, Niki finished not only the race, but finished

fourth, and that was something incredible.

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

Narrator: Hunt and McLaren jet off to prepare for the Canadian

Grand Prix, but their troubles are far from over.

In Paris, Ferrari presents its case for overturning McLaren's

win at the British Grand Prix.

There were gentlemen in blazers wearing old school ties

who were meant to decide on matters of whether people should

be disqualified, drivers should start or not start.

None of them really seemed to have read the rulebook very

clearly.

These three old boys turned up and were introduced to the

saintly Niki before they went in, which was all part of

Ferrari's, you know, psychological warfare.

So, they all went in going, oh, we've touched the hand of Saint

Niki.

Narrator: The verdict goes against McLaren, and nine vital

points are deducted.

So, we didn't win the British Grand Prix, and there's no

appeal to this appeal.

That's it, that's the end of it.

Narrator: With so many points lost, and only three races to

go, the odds are heavily against Hunt.

I decided that y'know, we couldn't possibly win the world

championship from this position now, without these points, and

stopped trying to control James's excesses, which became

quite excessive.

[Music]

We were staying in a great big motel on the side of the freeway

in Toronto, and there was a live band playing in the bar, and the

lead singer was a bit like Stevie Nicks, blonde little

dynamite creature, so James made us to pull her.

We had to get up early in the morning to go out to the warm up

and he came down, you know, disheveled with this lady,

obviously, anyway, disheveled might be the best way of

putting it.

Staggered off to the racetrack, won the race!

[Music]

Sex, the breakfast of champions.

In this particular case, it worked out.

[Music-Audience cheering]

Narrator: The winning candidate gets nine vital points, and in

the next race, he remains on form.

He storms through to another victory and takes the pole

again, but Lauda is still ahead by three points.

After ten months and 15 races, the championship has come down

to the very last Grand Prix.

For the first time ever, the final race is in Japan.

Excitement about the season has reached fever pitch.

Only three points separate Hunt and Lauda.

This will be the first race ever to be broadcast live by

satellite across the world.

Determined to win it, so, in order to do that, the best thing

for me to do is to win the race here.

Narrator: But on race day, the weather threatens to bring the

season to a premature end.

[Thunder]

All the drivers got together and said, this is ridiculous,

and not only was Niki Lauda saying that,

James Hunt also said, this race should not take place.

James and Niki were both on the Drivers Safety Committee, so

they were in the tower, arguing that the race shouldn't be held.

So, we had this confrontation, I was saying to him, you know, if

we don't race, James, you can't win the world championship.

Oh, no, chap, we can't race, it's too dangerous.

It's all very, you know, very above board, a bit irritating

when you're trying to win the world championship, and you

can't, obviously, when you don't race.

[Thematic notes]

Narrator: The race has now been delayed for nearly two hours.

The rain continues to fall, but the race organizers have reached

a decision.

And before then, the race director came in and said, we

have to start, and we all looked up and said, excuse me?

It's the same rain as before, why?

Because of television.

In two hours it will be too dark, and we have the satellite

TV that cost a lot of money, and we have a contract with the

organizer to at least start the race, otherwise, we all lose

money, the teams, the drivers, I lose the money if we don't at

least start the race.

Announcer: So, this race is going ahead, the

drivers are going out now for an exploratory lap, but I've never

seen conditions quite like this.

Narrator: The drivers have been forced onto the starting grid by

the demands of the vast TV audience they have created.

In Britain, it's three in the morning.

Hunt's parents and friends are watching the live satellite

broadcast in a TV studio, but his sister, Sally, is at home,

glued to the radio.

We switched on the radio very early in the morning, and I can

remember walking around the house with the radio clamped to

my ear, and the tension was just amazing.

Announcer: It's James Hunt who's first to move, Hunt leads.

Who has been eating his spray.

The conditions are even worse.

Narrator: Hunt takes the lead, but for other drivers following,

the water's spray is dangerously reducing visibility to near

zero, and all the cars are slipping and sliding in the

heavy rain.

Announcer:Brambilla takes the lead, but Hunt comes back,

and Brambilla spins!

Hunt's clear, Hunt's retaken the lead!

This is sensational world champions.

Hunt leads the race, Niki Lauda has pulled into the pits.

Niki stopped because, you know, it's too dangerous, I

stop.

Announcer: So, this extraordinary 1976 season has

taken another twist. Lauda is out of this final race.

But it seems it's not because of any problem with his car.

I tell him, Niki, what do you have to say that you have a

technical failure or something?

No, he said to me, tell them that it is too dangerous

to race.

[Thunder]

When a normal racing driver is not affected by an accident, you

have reserves, so it means your level of risk taking is higher

than you, like, in my case, you just come out of death, and had

everything happening to you, and then a couple of races later,

you have to face this more difficult situation with the

water and the rain and risk going up.

And, at that time, I was not prepared to take this extra risk

because of the accident.

And, emotionally, for me, it was impossible to tell Nikki,

you know, to go back to race, because you see, his eyes, was

really terrorize.

Narrator: Lauda is out of the race, but he was still become

world champion if Hunt fails to score enough points.

[Music, racing sounds]

And then the rain stopped and the water disappeared on the

circuit, and the circuit got better by coincidence,

basically, and, but I was not racing, and I still would do the

same today.

Narrator: Hunt must finish third or higher to take the

championship. But as the track dries out,

his wet weather tires begin to overheat.

One of the techniques you could do was cool them down by

running in puddles deliberately on the straights.

So, we put this sign out, cool tires, but James refused to

acknowledge or do this.

Cool the tires!

>Cool the tires!

And he's down the middle of the road, oblivious.

Eventually, he wore all the rubber off them, all the canvas,

down to the air, and he had two flat tires.

And with five laps to go, he came into the pits.

We thought that perhaps it was all going to go wrong for James.

Announcer: So, finally, James Hunt does come into the pits

with five laps to go here at Fuji.

This could spell the end of James--

Because he had two flat tires, we couldn't jack the car

up very well.

So, the car was too low to get the jack underneath.

So, the mechanic and I had to pick up the left front

of the car.

So, it took us, like, 24 seconds or something to

change the tires.

Announcer: Hunt is rejoined in fifth place,

not enough for title.

Narrator: With the championship seemingly beyond his grasp,

Hunt, the sportsman, throws caution to the wind and makes

his charge for the finish line.

Announcer: See a McLaren passing a Ferrari, so Hunt is ahead

of Regazzoni now!

The Lotus, Mario Andretti is going to win this race, but

Hunt's on his way to third, and four championship points, just

enough, by one point, to make him world champion.

James Hunt finishes third, James Hunt is champion

of the world.

[Cheering]

We were all whizzing about, sort of cheering, and excited

because James was now world champion.

Narrator: But right now, Hunt himself has no idea

the championship is his.

Now, James Hunt came into the pits in a rage, and as the

McLaren team gathered round, James got out of the car, pulled

off his crash helmet, started to rant and rave at them and Teddy

Mayer was holding up three fingers, saying, James, you're

third, you're a champion!

And gradually, the penny dropped.

There was a lot of excitement, and does he know yet, and is it

true, and then suddenly, it was true, and he was world champion.

Narrator: Hunt has won, despite ignoring team words.

I was not best pleased with him, you won't see me in any of

the photographs, I'm nowhere near him, because I just wanna

punch him in the mouth.

[Laughing]

Even though he is the world champion.

[Audience cheering]

Yeah, well, you know, I feel really sorry for Niki, but quite

honestly, you know, I wanted to win the championship, and I felt

that I deserved to win the championship.

I also felt that Niki deserved to win the championship, and I

just wished we could have shared it.

I said at the same time, at the time there, if anybody

should get the championship, then I'm happy it's James,

because I liked him, and we were not buddies, but we were at

least empathic, so I think we took care of each other from the

heart in a very nice way, which, in these days the heart was

never shown in Formula One.

[Music]

Hunt, who came into Heathrow early today said, I don't think

I've stopped celebrating since the race.

Well, we met James coming home, there was James looking

slightly dazed, you could probably say completely out of

it, he'd drunk quite a lot on the way home.

Very tired and somewhat hungover, thank you very much.

[Laughter] What was the party like?

It was long, but quite good.

And we all went off to a party, and I have to say,

my memory's a bit hazy after that,

because, I think I drunk more

champagne for breakfast than I ever had before.

Narrator: Hunt and Lauda would never have such a close race

again, but the legacy of the first superstars

of Grand Prix helped shape Formula One

into the global TV sport it is today.

The excitement of that season meant that no self-respecting

country could allow its television service not to cover

Formula One properly.

So, suddenly, Formula One was available everywhere.

We had James and Niki coming out of this as these two titans

of their time.

Who could've predicted that?

It was just the most amazing season.

In life, you need a certain amount of luck.

The question is how much luck you need.

I think the luck is the meaning.

I think human beings can do much more for themself then, I think.

We have to remember only the good things.

It was a good fight.

I don't think I thought of it as my little brother although

that's what he was.

I just thought, oh, it's James who I love, and my friend, and

he's achieved what he wants to achieve.

That was very exciting.

How do you want to do it?

Do you want to go a steady paced 70 years, or do you wanna go

flat out for 10 years and then relax?

And I rather like doing it that way.

At the time, we said, if you wrote this as a film script,

people will say, that's ridiculous.

You gotta have something believable, you can't have the

farcical story.

But the farcical story is true.

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]