One of the most celebrated grand prix victories of all time occurred at the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix, when James Hunt and the little Hesketh team secured a classic underdog success against the might of Ferrari and reigning world champion Niki Lauda.

It was Hunt’s first Formula One victory, while it was to be Hesketh’s only win, as the team folded at the end of the season.

The Ferraris of Lauda and Regazzoni had taken an easy 1-2 in qualifying, so it didn’t look like anyone else had much of a chance. Race day was wet, however, although the rain had abated in time for the start.

Everyone started on wets, but Hunt gambled on an early switch to slicks, and made up enough time to narrowly take the lead from Lauda as the Austrian emerged from his own pit stop.

From there Hunt was able to hold his nerve, absorbing a huge amount of pressure from his rival. After nearly two hours of racing, he crossed the line just a second to the good.

This is one of the few remaining iconic Formula One cars never to have been replicated in 1:18 scale before. Spark will soon be correcting that omission.

 

Shop for the 1:18 Hunt 1975 Hesketh 308. Dutch GP

 

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