Racers' kids. Why the fascination?
Posted by Nick Trott at 4:00PM on Wednesday 24 January, 2007 1 Comment
The news that James Hunt's son Freddie is serious about a career in racing is deeply fascinating.
There has been a flood of racers' kids hitting the circuits recently, but the thought of Freddie Hunt making a stab at it gives me goose bumps. And I suspect I'm not the only one.
Nostalgia can be blamed. That Marlboro-red tinted view of racing past. And the picture of Freddie in his helmet? He looks just like his old man...
But the personality-free zone that ring-fences F1's current heroes can also be blamed. Drivers are seen as monosyllabic dullards out of the cockpit, which the majority are, so past heroes are deified and their wild ways celebrated.
We therefore hope that the next-gen racers' kids will not only replicate their fathers' success, they will actually become them.
I questioned Keke Rosberg about this once, and blowing cigar smoke disdainfully in my face he replied firmly: "No, I would rather Nico follow Michael Schumacher's example than my own." That told me.
What Keke was saying is that if any young racer is keen to replicate anyone it should be the current benchmark, and we shouldn't expect them to be anyone other than themselves.
Some will be looking in Freddie's personality for even the slightest hint of the hard-charging, fag-smoking, straight-talking, babe-chasing, trumpet-playing, budgie-breeder that was James, but I'm hoping that the kid will become very much his own man.
Which in many ways will make him more like his father than we can imagine.
Advertiser links
1 Comment for "Racers' kids. Why the fascination?"
POST A COMMENT USING THE FORM BELOW
Comments are now closed for the blog archives.
Just that, because we want them to have the personality of their father, but also want them to electrify the track.