“I think he did an incredible job because when I first saw the movie, I
said, ‘S—! That’s really me.'”
Rush was directed by Oscar-winner Ron Howard, who, said Lauda, knew nothing at
all about motor racing. “It was really funny because he had no idea
about racing at all and he was like a little kid – he couldn’t stop asking
questions. Then the whole thing came into gear.”
Although the film portrays Lauda and Hunt as two drivers who disliked each
other in the early days of their careers, Lauda told me that in fact they
used to go out on the town in London together and on at least one occasion
he spent the night in Hunt’s flat. Then he added with a smile and a wink: “But
not together. There were four of us.”
On the track, he said, Hunt was a tough competitor. “There are good
drivers and bad ones and then there are the really talented ones who are
difficult to beat and James was one of them. We respected each other very
much because in the old days, to drive 300 kilometres an hour side by side
towards a corner, if someone makes a mistake, one or both are killed. Hunt
was someone you could rely on to be really precise.
“The sad thing is that he isn’t here now. I wish he could have seen the
movie because I know for sure he would have enjoyed it.”
Rush is now open at UK cinemas