‘Eccentric’ & ‘Weird’ Lewis Hamilton Was Once Compared to F1’s Ultimate Playboy James Hunt by None Other Than Niki Lauda Himself

Two protagonists fighting for the F1 championship with the barest of margins to separate them. It can be dramatic to the core. The 1970s witnessed one such rivalry in F1 between two contrasting drivers – Niki Lauda and James Hunt. About 4 decades later, the 3X time champion Lauda witnessed a similar driver pairing in Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

The late Niki Lauda was the Non-Executive Chairman of Mercedes when the Silver Arrows rose as one of the dominating teams of F1 in 2014. While Lauda had a huge influence through his technical expertise, he also on-boarded Lewis Hamilton to the Brackley-based team.

Although as Hamilton bedded in at the team, he clashed with his mate Nico Rosberg for the championship. This was when Niki noticed how similar the duo is to himself and James Hunt.

Talking to the Press Association in 2016, Lauda addressed how his rivalry with the 1976 champion was similar to the Mercedes duo. He said, “It is like Hamilton and Rosberg today [2016]. One lives one kind of life, and the other lives a different lifestyle. It was a similar situation between James [Hunt] and me [Niki Lauda].”

The 3-time champion further explained, “I was trying to concentrate, focus and work on my car, and get everything right. He had an easy life and got it right in another way. He [Hunt] was a straightforward, eccentric, and a weird guy, but very good for Formula One.”

Like James Hunt, Lewis Hamilton too had a bit of ‘Playboy’ image back in the day. However, he eventually got rid of the tag.

Read More: “That Backfired On Me” – Horner Regrets Encouraging Niki Lauda to Go After Lewis Hamilton in 2014

Meanwhile, Hamilton’s rival Rosberg got married to his long-time partner in 2014 and had a daughter. Lauda resonated with how Rosberg was as focused and dedicated as he was. The Austrian also got married in 1976 after winning his first title in 1975.

How the Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg rivalry shaped up as the Hunt-Lauda rivalry

The characters of Hamilton and Hunt or Rosberg and Lauda might be similar. But the story of their rivalries did not follow the same trajectory. Niki Lauda got a major competitive drive with Ferrari in 1974, and James Hunt was struggling in a mid-field car – Hesketh.

As 1975 rolled on, Lauda dominated the year and Hunt was nowhere to challenge him for the title. The Austrian won the championship for Ferrari and then came the cinematic turn of events. James moved to McLaren for the 1976 season and started a titanic charge for the championship.

That was the year when Hunt was absolutely committed to winning the championship, come what may. Although Lauda suffered a near-fatal crash at the Nurburgring, he miraculously survived to come back to fight Hunt. But in similar torrential conditions to Germany, Hunt prevailed to take the 1976 championship in Japan by just 1 point over Lauda.

Nonetheless, Lauda came back to win in 1977 in his dominating fashion. But Hunt had his one title and had proved his mettle in F1, eventually retiring later on.

Contrasting with the Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry, it was Lewis who took consecutive titles in 2014 and 2015. This frustrated Rosberg as the signs of a titanic clash were evident. Rosberg not only won 3 consecutive races at the end of 2015 but also won the 4 opening rounds of 2016.

Nico was a man on a mission in 2016, similar to Hunt in 1976. As the championship finale closed in, the German driver had a 12-point gap over Lewis and ultimately hung on to clinch his maiden and only title by 5 points.

Watch This Story: Ugliest moments in Hamilton-Rosberg F1 rivalry

How ironic is it that Lauda compared Hunt to Hamilton, but in the title battles, Lewis dominated like the Austrian. And on the other side, Rosberg, like Hunt, proved his mettle by winning his only championship and eventually leaving the sport. Let us know your thoughts about these fabled F1 rivals.