"RUSH" (2013)

RUSH

By Peter Morgan

December 6th, 2011

Dark clouds passing overhead.

The bad weather that has hovered over the Eifel mountains, (in Germany), the past three days is on it’s way out..

A pupil dilates and contracts in the light. The eye stares. Blinks. Thinks. Making evaluations..

The first rays of sunshine break through. The voices of international TV commentators in different languages.

The eye belongs to a 27 year old Formula 1 RACING DRIVER wearing a fireproof balaclava...

Highly intelligent, he also happens to be World Champion. His name is painted on the side of his Ferrari. NIKI LAUDA.

NIKI stares up at the clouds. His eyelids flicker. Thinking. Agonizing. Wrestling with an all important decision...

Is it going to carry on raining? Or become dry? Should he be using slicks or wets?

We widen to find ourselves on the starting grid of a major Grand Prix. All around us...

Engines scream into life as DRIVERS start their cars. An OFFICIAL walks through the cars holding aloft a sign, “One Minute”...

Deafening, angry thunder as engines rev impatiently.

A Ferrari MECHANIC rushes towards NIKI, and shouts in Italian above the noise, (we see sub-titles)...

NIKI looks in his wing-mirror back to see a red McLaren, white helmet, number 12, several rows behind him. A team of MECHANICS hastily changing the tyres to dry tyres.

NIKI then looks over at the car in pole position beside him. Another McLaren, but with number 11, and a Union Jack...

The car in pole position: JAMES HUNT, surrounded by TV crews, mechanics, girlfriends, hangers-on..

The Maclaren team is less than half the size of Ferrari’s, but HUNT makes up for this with magnetism. The rock star of F1.

NIKI’s face: a stab of envy seeing a flash of his rival’s glamorous long blonde hair disappearing into his balaclava, flirting with several hot-looking GIRLS..

NIKI stares, then...

The ten-second board is held up.

NIKI pulls down his visor...as he and HUNT’s eyes meet for a split-second, eyes staring...

NIKI selects second gear for the wet track and revs the engine. The dashboard needle climbs through 8000, 9000, 10000 RPM.

CAPTION: “AUGUST 1st, 1976”.

The STARTER waves the flag. NIKI’s foot hits the floor - his engine screams that deafening, stomach rearranging high-pitch scream, drowning out the roar of the 180,000 crowd.

NIKI’s car is catapaulted forward violently, the wheel-spin leaving livid black scars on the asphalt..

NIKI gets away first. A good start! But within seconds there’s a McLaren car right behind him, breathing down his neck.

His arch-rival. HUNT.

But as the McLaren roars past, NIKI sees a white helmet. Number 12. It’s not Hunt. It’s MASS. On his bald, slick tyres.

NIKI curses under his breath. He screwed up. Made the wrong decision. Should have gone on slicks. He urgently needs to change tyres...

NIKI swerves angrily into the pits. Ferrari’s pit is right at one end...

Commentary from all the world’s TV stations explaining the crazy, panicked situation as all the DRIVERS come into the pits to change to dry tyres.

It’s chaos. A traffic jam of Formula 1 cars...

The Ferrari team frantically work. Changing NIKI’s tyres. Four men with air guns, two men with rapid-duty jacks. The same Italian MECHANIC appears, ‘plugs in’ his headset to the car..

NIKI looks up to see the name JAMES HUNT written on the black helmet roar out of the pits ahead, with new tyres on...

NIKI screams at the MECHANICS, who are struggling. The airguns make a high-pitched noise...something’s not right.

“Thump”, new (slick) tyres hit the tarmac, engines scream, and NIKI exit the pits in pursuit of HUNT. But the delay has cost him dear...

Archive TV commentary from the world’s race COMMENTATORS stations informs us of the positions.

MASS leading, HUNT in 3rd, LAUDA in 20th...

NIKI gives it everything he’s got. Tearing through the gears, trying to catch JAMES HUNT, breaking as late as he can, engine screaming.

He flies over the take-off hump between Pflanzgarten and Swallowtail - passes one car after another. Into 13th place now. Pulling off outrageous manoeuvres.

NIKI’s P.O.V: the world flies past in a blur. The steering wheel shakes. The car is right on the edge. Cannot be driven any harder.

NIKI approaches the Streckenteil Adenauer-Brucke section of the course...turns left at the Bergwerk corner. Crazy speed. And tight. Too tight. A mistake...

“Thump”, his wheels come into contact with the kerb on the inside. NIKI tries to counter-steer, but is travelling at 155 mph. The car jerks horribly to the right..

“Crunch”, hits the embankment, then “Bang”, hits the barrier, and is thrown across the track..

Fire breaks out in the engine. NIKI’s eyes widen in horror, with another car bearing down upon him...

The oncoming car crashes head-on into our car, “Crash”, a sickening, terrifying impact.

The car explodes. Seventy litres of burning high-octane gasoline, with NIKI strapped inside, unable to undo his seatbelt. Locked in a blast furnace.

NIKI screams as the flames engulf him. 800 degrees temperature. Trapped inside his car.

Burning smoke fills his helmet, scarring his lungs...

Pandemonium: commentary in different languages as panicked TV commentators helplessly describe what’s happening..

NIKI’s POV: he can just make out the barely recognizable figures of the other DRIVERS rushing towards NIKI..

Their hands get burnt in the flames as they try unsuccessfully to undo NIKI’s seatbelt..

Fire extinguishers blast at the car. Dry powder extinguishers. Covering NIKI’s helmet. Blurring his vision, as he cries out in agony, inhaling the powder..

Screaming voices. Panicked reactions. On the side of the car, the painted name ‘Niki Lauda’ blisters and melts.

Then sound fades. As NIKI blacks out - losing consciousness.

FADE TO BLACK:

Over this: the sound of a ringing phone...

We’re in a busy hospital A&E unit. Noise. Crowds. A regular Saturday late afternoon. The phone continues to ring..

Finally, an attractive station NURSE in her 20’s, run-off-her- feet, breathlessly picks up the phone.

She covers her ears, straining to hear, listening to what is being said. Then her expression changes...

The NURSE hangs up...then calls out to her NURSE and DOCTOR colleagues...

Instantly the atmosphere changes. A hive of activity as DOCTORS and NURSES prepare themselves for a major trauma...

All PATIENTS with minor injuries are cleared out of the way.

The NURSE rings upstairs to the operating theatres and consultant surgeons, telling them to stand by...

CAPTION: “EIGHTY-EIGHT RACES EARLIER”

Swing doors open, and a pair of shoeless, BARE FEET walks through and into the accident and emergency unit.

Camera tilts up a pair of long legs in white racing overalls...to reveal a tall, good-looking driver, JAMES HUNT, (mid 20’s), tanned, athletic, surfer long blonde hair...

A man about whom a word comes to mind one would rarely use to describe an Englishman. SEXY.

Blood trickles from his nose, there is bruising to his lip and the formation (already) of a nasty black eye, but make no mistake. He rocks. Drop-dead gorgeous..

JAMES notices all the NURSES staring..

The attractive NURSE is examining JAMES, opening his overalls, checking for wounds, cuts and bruises...

The NURSE notices bruising on JAMES’s chest...

She examines him, testing his ribs for fractures, his chest..

JAMES looks up. Their eyes meet..

‘Crash’, the door flies open as JAMES and the NURSE stumble through, mid-embrace, tearing at one another’s clothes...

The apartment is basic. Cramped. Messy. Like that of a poor student. Ashtrays filled with half-smoked joints. Empty beer cans. A toaster. A kettle. A stereo. A cage containing two budgerigars.

A mattress on the floor.

Newspapers with headlines about the Dockers Strike, England’s crumbling economy, Rolls Royce being bailed out by the government - subtle reminders of Britain in transition, leaving behind its strong, imperial past.

JAMES and the NURSE stand against the wall, still half- dressed, but already passionately making love...

JAMES and the NURSE continue noisily, tirelessly making love in the shower...

The lovemaking becomes more intense...

JAMES is covered in perspiration, out on the edge...

JAMES and the NURSE, both screaming as they approach orgasm...

JAMES and the NURSE both climax together...and collapse on the bed. Exhausted.

A grotty old race track in South London.

JAMES and the NURSE arrive at Crystal Palace race track in his battered old mini. They get out. She looks up, seeing the mechanics, the racing teams, the cars..

JAMES leads the NURSE into...

The pits where JAMES introduces her to his team...

JAMES strips off, changing into his racing overalls.

The NURSE, meanwhile, drifts over to look at the car where BUBBLES is making last minute checks...

An odd-looking car. A bit like a giant Go-kart, blue with yellow strips along the side and James’s name in small letters. It looks small, dangerously fragile.

The NURSE is shocked to hear a dreadful watery vomiting sound. She sees JAMES bent over behind the truck...

JAMES continues vomiting...

JAMES emerges, wiping his mouth...

JAMES takes a quick swig of the champagne...gargles, then swallows, puts on his balaclava...

HESKETH passes over a joint, which JAMES inhales, taking a huge lungful from....

JAMES goes to the NURSE...and kisses her full on the lips, then puts on his helmet, and athletically vaults into the car.

JAMES hits the ignition, and a deafening high-pitched SCREAM as the engine starts...

JAMES notices another driver (NIKI LAUDA), his car already unloaded, (number 35) and mechanics working on it..

JAMES looks over. On the side of the car, painted markings, in the form of a signature, “Niki Lauda”.

JAMES is neck and neck with NIKI. They go into a corner.

NIKI gets there first. Up ahead though, approaching the second bend...JAMES sees the tiniest, slimmest crack to overtake. No right-minded driver would risk it. Only a suicidal maniac.

Which just happens to describe JAMES perfectly..

JAMES goes for it. Daringly. Brilliantly. And forces NIKI to slam on his brakes to prevent a certain crash...

HESKETH, BUBBLES, DOC and the NURSE watch from the sidelines...

JAMES carries on driving. Flat out.

But on the flat, NIKI suddenly comes out of nowhere. As if his car has 50 bhp more.

And overtakes JAMES. NIKI begins to pull away. And has the Englishman beaten..

JAMES sees red mist...and in an act of do-or-die vengeful madness, JAMES goes into a corner far too fast...

...yanks his steering wheel. And outrageously shunts NIKI’s car. An unforgivable act of unsportsmanlike vindictiveness.

NIKI and JAMES’s cars both veer off...go into wild, lethal spins..but luckily for JAMES he ends up facing the right way...

...and despite being badly shaken, dizzy, JAMES is able to change gears, and continue driving...

NIKI’s car, by contrast, has stalled...and now ends up facing THE WRONG WAY on the track...

NIKI’s eyes look up to see all the cars coming over a brow, like a herd of Wildebeest, heading towards him...

NIKI rips open his seat-belt, is about to get out of his car, when one car shoots straight over the nose of his car.

NIKI ducks, then bravely leaps for cover, as....

“SMASH”, one of the oncoming cars shunts into his car, (it would have killed him instantly).

“WHAM”, another car narrowly misses him...

“CRASH”, another car forces NIKI into an evasive dive...

Cars scream past him on all sides as the race continues...

NIKI, battered, shaken, has had an unbelievably close escape. He rips off his helmet, furious...

And now we see NIKI LAUDA’s face for the first time. Sharp- featured. Intelligent eyes. Dark hair. Protruding teeth.

Something unmistakably rat-like about him.

JAMES is on the podium, having won. He’s with the NURSE, and HESKETH and BUBBLES and his team, spraying them with champagne..

NIKI walks past the podium, holding his blue helmet, and shouts out, still incandescent...

Laughter.

JAMES makes chicken noises...

“BEEEEP”, a car horn hoots nearby, blocking out JAMES’s c-word insult...

Laughter. NIKI gives JAMES the finger, “Screw you, asshole”. The NURSE watches NIKI go..

NIKI continues to walk off, middle finger raised..

To establish: the Austrian capital. OVER THIS: the sound of NIKI’s voice...

NIKI is in front of a mirror, and dresses smartly in a jacket, and open necked shirt, evidently a little nervous...

A large, forbidding dining room. NIKI’s FATHER and terrifying GRANDFATHER, are eating supper. GRANDFATHER shakes his head, clearly disapproves and barks in German...(we see subtitles)

NIKI stares at his GRANDFATHER..

...and in a move that he knows will rupture the family for ever, NIKI gets to his feet..

NIKI walks out, the old man’s insults ringing in his ears...

NIKI is in a meeting with visibly concerned BANKERS and LAWYERS. They speak in German...

NIKI is driving his car. Beside him, is the attache case on his lap. His car passes under a motorway sign reading “Flughafen”. (Airport)...

A private jet. A balding, blazered Englishman in late middle- age (LOUIS STANLEY), owner of BRM racing, disembarks onto the tarmac...

NIKI sits with LOUIS STANLEY in an airport cafe.

Contracts are open on the table. NIKI is signing. LOUIS STANLEY is counter-signing...

NIKI takes out his cheque book and pen. He looks up...

NIKI writes the cheque. STANLEY’s smile fades..

NIKI ignores this, continues scrutinizing the contract...

NIKI takes back the cheque. STANLEY stares...

NIKI puts the cheque in his attache case. Snaps it shut, taking it with him..

NIKI gets to his feet, and leaves. STANLEY watches the attache case disappear.

An awards ceremony is in progress. The room is thick with cigar and cigarette smoke. A presenter on stage, wearing black tie...

A loud, boisterous cheer goes up at the Hesketh Racing table.

JAMES turns to a (new/different) girlfriend beside him, gives her a lingering kiss on the lips, then gets to his feet, shakes hands with HESKETH, and BUBBLES and skips up to the podium...

A good-looking woman calls out..

Laughter.

Afterwards: everyone is celebrating. Thanks to JAMES, every pretty woman in the club is around. The trophy is perched beside bottles of champagne...

‘Pop’, HESKETH opens a bottle of champagne...

JAMES makes the chicken noises again..

JAMES stares. Already sick with envy.

The PAUL RICARD circuit near Marseilles in the South of France. Where all winter training and testing is done.

NIKI arrives. An attractive woman (AGNES) greets him...

NIKI watches as she telephones the BRM workshops...

She hangs up. NIKI decides against pointing out her mistake.

A silence. The RECEPTIONIST continues with her work. NIKI watches her, unsure what to say, (small-talk not his forte)...

NIKI is thrown. Feels humiliated. A total jerk. He is about to say something when the door opens, and...

Two other F1 DRIVERS walk in..

Glamorous, long-haired, tanned, fashionable - like rock stars, they talk effortlessly and flirt confidently with AGNES.

What are you doing answering the phones? New haircut! Like it. What have you done to the weather?

They make her laugh. And smile.

NIKI feels invisible. Embarrassed. Awkward. Inadequate. He gets to his feet. And goes to the car that has come to collect him.

As he goes, (unseen by NIKI), AGNES watches him. Ignoring the other DRIVERS. Intrigued.

He’s different. Interesting. Intense. Intelligent eyes.

The car pulls up outside the workshops. NIKI gets out of the car, and is greeted by LOUIS STANLEY, and the BRM team...

The intimidating, muscular, moustachioed figure of CLAY REGAZZONI, the Swiss driver. NIKI and CLAY shake hands.

REGAZZONI, BELTOISE and STANLEY exchange looks as NIKI shakes hands, ad-libbed greetings with his MECHANICS.

NIKI is led into the workshop to see a red and white Marlboro sponsored car, number 21, with a tall air-intake duct just above the driver’s helmet...

NIKI scrutinizes the car...

MECHANIC

The MECHANICS look at one another skeptically...

Shooting from above:

The entire car has been stripped to a thousand pieces. Now spread all over the workshop floor.

NIKI’s team of mechanics reluctantly work through the night making the adjustments which NIKI is suggesting...

More disbelieving, skeptical looks. The car is in pieces on the floor. NIKI brews coffee to keep people alert. Focused.

More mutinous looks. “Who is this asshole?”

Daylight breaks over the race-track. The doors to the workshop open, and the MECHANICS and NIKI emerge - their work done.

NIKI goes to shake hands with the MECHANICS...

But they’re exhausted. Refuse to shake hands with this nut.

LATER: one of the BRM cars screams round the race-track...

NIKI watches on the sidelines as CLAY REGAZZONI is time- testing his car. He walks over to where LOUIS STANLEY and several MECHANICS are doing the timings...

NIKI looks up to see AGNES, the attractive TRACK MANAGER again on the other side of the track.

NIKI waves hi. AGNES waves back. Smiles. NIKI raises his eyebrow. Surprised.

REGAZZONI gets into NIKI’s car.

REGAZZONI races round the track at full speed.

REGAZZONI roars past the finishing line in NIKI’s car. LOUIS STANLEY looks at the stop watch..

His expression changes.

STANLEY comes into the workshop where NIKI and his MECHANICS are in conversation, getting changed...

STANLEY stares, bracing himself..

STANLEY stares...

NIKI turns, and goes. STANLEY stares...

CLAY REGAZZONI emerges from testing his car. Still amazed by the improved performance. Talking to his MECHANICS. In awe.

He removes his helmet, then stops.

In the distance he sees NIKI talking to AGNES the attractive TRACK MANAGER. They are clearly hitting it off..

NIKI is in the showers, then getting changed for his date with AGNES. He is about to go, when he stops, and sees...

CLAY REGAZZONI getting undressed, looking at NIKI. CLAY speaks English with an Italian accent..

NIKI immediately becomes defensive...

NIKI stares. Can hardly believe it.

CLAY slaps NIKI on his back, and goes into the showers..

A restaurant in Marseilles. Through the window we can see AGNES, the attractive TRACK MANAGER sitting at a table alone. Waiting for NIKI.

Reverse angle to reveal:

NIKI is sitting in a car across the street. He stares at AGNES in the restaurant. Then starts his car, and drives off.

FADE TO BLACK:

Easton Neston. Set in 3,300 acres, one of England’s great country houses. Home to the Fermor-Hesketh family since 1700.

JAMES and a new GIRLFRIEND drive up the gravel drive in his anything but grandiose Mini. It splutters to a stop, just in time.

They are greeted by uniformed STAFF who take his tatty bags from his filthy car.

The Hesketh Racing workshops, situated in the converted stables on the estate. HESKETH leads a blindfolded JAMES in...

HESKETH removes JAMES’s blindfold...

JAMES opens his eyes to see a gorgeous F1 racing car, plain white, no stickers...

DOC POSTLETHWAITE takes a modest bow. JAMES shakes hands with everyone, including his brother, (and manager), PETER..

BUBBLES clears his throat, dutifully bites his tongue..

JAMES embraces HESKETH in excitement, kisses him...

JAMES slips into the cockpit...

HESKETH indicates JAMES’s hanging racing overalls...

Laughter.

HESKETH pops champagne...

To establish: a Formula 1 race track on Grand Prix week-end..

A helicopter comes in to land.

The Hesketh Racing Team makes a grand entrance with a retinue of BUTLERS, GIRLS, ROLLS’ ROYCE’s, oysters, champagne...

A famous ex-champion TV REPORTER is there (Stirling Moss) providing skeptical commentary about Hesketh’s debut...

They walk around in their own branded clothing. Alexander’s jacket reads, “Le Patron”. He speaks to MOSS.

Rolled eyes among other racing teams who express surprise, curiosity (and frequently disapproval) at these new arrivals..

Suddenly pandemonium breaks out. Screams. Something has happened. A bad accident on the track. During testing...

All smiles fade. The party atmosphere changes in a flash. Panic breaks out.

The sound of sirens. Ambulances rushing to the scene of the accident. All the JOURNALISTS and TV CREWS rush off, too.

HESKETH, BUBBLES and JAMES look at one another, put down their champagne glasses, and follow...

Mangled wreckage. A car has crashed into (badly installed) Armco guard rails, splitting the railing in two...

The DRIVER has been decapitated. His helmeted HEAD lies cleanly severed on the ground...

A goldfish-bowl of blood.

It’s a horrific accident. People SCREAM and look away. Even hardened medical professionals...

JAMES, HESKETH, BUBBLES arrive on the scene of the accident. But they are kept away, at a distance...

JAMES, dressed in his overalls, is violently retching. Sick with nerves. A TV plays in the pits...

ON TV: quickfire clips of the terrible, violent deaths. BUBBLES hastily switches off the TV as JAMES walks past...

JAMES walks out of the paddock, towards his car. Other DRIVERS gathered in concerned groups, talking...

Then, a distinctive Austrian accent..

JAMES walks off to his car, shaking his head..

NIKI walks to his car, putting on his helmet.

NIKI is on the podium, spraying champagne. He is wearing the victor’s garland...

Meanwhile: JAMES’s car is embarrassingly being brought back by a tow-truck. NIKI watches from the podium..

His eyes meet JAMES’s..

JAMES and BUBBLES and PETER HUNT (JAMES’s blazer-wearing manager and elder brother), sit together at a table in the corner. It’s late. A frank post-mortem. Drinking and talking..

JAMES rolls his eyes...

BUBBLES walks off. PETER HUNT walks off. JAMES calls out..

The grand Hesketh estate in the Northamptonshire countryside.

JAMES is in the workshops, his hands and arms filthy, he’s been working on the car - but now his eyes are closed. Memorizing tracks. Around him people are working on the car..

VOICE Is Alexander around..?

JAMES opens his eyes to see an endless pair of legs, a drop- dead gorgeous figure, and the beautiful smiling face of SUZY MILLER, the most successful model of the day.

SUZY indicates the car...

SUZY looks JAMES up and down. Sees the bare feet, the rock star good looks...

In the background: one of the MECHANICS shows DOC a picture of SUZY from a tabloid newspaper. She’s clearly the most famous model in Britain, and a star in her own right...

SUZY laughs..

SUZY laughs again...

JAMES looks SUZY up and down...

The sound of ringing bells. London’s grandest Catholic church in the heart of Knightsbridge..

JAMES and SUZY, top hat and tails, flowing white wedding dress, looking ravishing, emerge from the church.

JAMES and SUZY fall into a passionate, sexy embrace for the paparazzi cameras. Loud cheers go up, led by HESKETH and BUBBLES.

They make their way to the waiting convoy of cars...

On his way: JAMES spots a serious-faced HESKETH and DOC POSTLETHWAITE in conversation with some Formula 1 types in the crowd..

SUZY is pulled away for photos. Clearly a bigger star even than JAMES. JAMES turns to BUBBLES, indicates HESKETH...

BUBBLES stares, then reluctantly...

JAMES stares...then is pulled away to pose in photographs with SUZY and her FAMILY.

FERRARI’s state-of-the-art practise facilities and private test-track in Northern Italy.

72AINT. FERRARI CONTROL ROOM 72A

Closed circuit television, with 10 cameras and a complex track timing system and computers....

72BEXT. FIORANO - TRACK SIDE 72B

ENZO FERRARI himself, the Commendatore, a formidable white- haired patriarch in Onassis dark glasses, reads newspapers, sitting by the race tracks, barely looking up as two red Ferrari’s roar round the track...

LUCA DI MONTEZEMOLO, the young, dynamic, aristocratic manager of the Scuderia, by contrast, watches eagle-eyed..

72CEXT. FIORANO - TRACKSIDE - LATER 72C

The two cars stop, and NIKI and CLAY REGAZZONI gets out. NIKI talks (in a mix of Italian and English) to his MECHANIC, giving them typically blunt feedback...

72CCONTINUED: 72C

The MECHANIC gulps, then walks over to where the terrifying COMMENDATORE and LUCA DI MONTEZEMOLO are sitting, and passes on the information...

A large press conference, with motoring JOURNALISTS and television CREWS from all over the world attending...

ENZO FERRARI and LUCA DI MONTEZEMOLO addresses the conference (in Italian) which is translated by a translator...

A burst of flash photography. NIKI and REGAZZONI sit side by side.

A car drives fast on country roads in Northern Italy...

CLAY REGAZZONI is driving, NIKI is in the passenger seat...

REGAZZONI shakes his head, can’t help smiling...

NIKI laughs...

REGAZZONI pulls up outside the house...

REGAZZONI walks ahead, disappears through the front door, where he is warmly welcomed, and invited into a party.

NIKI calls after him...

NIKI stares through the window. Inside: a very appealing looking bunch - young, good-looking, cool, sexy GUESTS - all having a good time..

By contrast: NIKI catches his own reflection in the glass reflection. Pale. Intense. The outsider.

Inside: REGAZZONI is surrounded by friends, telling a story. Everyone laughs.

NIKI watches. Then turns to walk away. As he goes, the front door opens...

And a beautiful dark-haired woman (MARLENE) emerges loading several BAGS into a car. Brunette, tan. Wearing a white dress.

The car drives. The radio plays. Marlene sings along. NIKI can’t help noticing something. He turns down the music. MARLENE’s smile fades..

White smoke pours from the engine. The car has broken down. Bonnet up. NIKI has tried fixing it, but to no avail.

NIKI has a fan belt in his hand, but it’s all but disintegrated under the heat of the over-worked engine.

NIKI’s hands are covered in oil. He is pushing a pen into a large crack in the engine, slick with oil and grease.

NIKI walks out into the road. Sticks out his thumb...

MARLENE breaks into GERMAN...(we see sub-titles)...

MARLENE gets to her feet...

MARLENE indicates that NIKI should take a back seat, hitches up her skirt, showing long, tanned legs..

SSSCCCREEEEEEEEECCCCCHHHHHHH!!!!!

Immediately a passing car screeches to a halt, then reverses noisily to pull level. MARLENE smiles at NIKI...

MARLENE smiles flirtatiously at the handsome, young Italian MEN driving the open-topped sports car..

But the Italian MEN walk right past her, not seeing her, as if she’s invisible, and stare at NIKI...

The ITALIAN MAN gestures to his car, as his friend loads MARLENE’s luggage inside...

The ITALIAN MAN whisper in NIKI’s ear. MARLENE stares, not understanding, as NIKI protests, but then slowly, reluctantly gets into the car. He starts the engine.

MARLENE watches as the ITALIAN MEN strap themselves in with the seat-belts, tightening them...giggling like schoolboys..

MARLENE turns to NIKI...

MARLENE indicates...

It’s true. NIKI is driving in the slow lane. Like a pensioner.

MARLENE looks at him with her dark green eyes...

NIKI stares, trying to resist...but cannot. He does a lightning double-declutch...

“SLAM”, NIKI’s foot hits the floor, the engine screams, the rev counter flies to the right...

And the open-topped sports car lurches into warp-drive...

MARLENE is thrown back hard in her seat, “Jesus”, her eyes widen in terror and amazement..

The ITALIAN MEN scream in excitement, holding on for dear life as NIKI, his heart not a beat over 60, takes the car to breaking point, in a way it’s never been driven before...

NIKI overtakes everyone on the motorway, fearlessly weaving between cars at twice their speed..

We CLOSE on NIKI’s eyes, remaining dead calm as his passengers scream all around him, as he accelerates through the other cars on the motorway...

His EYES remain calm, his WHEELS a blur of speed, and we...

Calm EYES, and WHEELS moving in a blur of speed. We’re in the middle of a Grand Prix, and NIKI is driving at the limit...

CAPTION: “1975”.

Ahead of him: a familiar sight. The back of JAMES HUNT’s Hesketh..

MARLENE watches on TV in the pits as NIKI is engaged in an epic tussle with JAMES...

Commentators note the improvement in JAMES’s technique, maturity and performance. But then, “Puff”, a plume of smoke comes out of JAMES’s engine. The engine has blown...

Immediately JAMES loses speed, and NIKI sails past, overtaking effortlessly. Taking the chequered flag.

Television commentary in various languages tells us: NIKI LAUDA has become world champion...

NIKI’s car pulls in, to be mobbed by jubilant MECHANICS as he gets out of his car, removing his helmet, embraced by a delighted LUCA DI MONTEZEMOLO...

...then falling into a passionate kiss with MARLENE...

Champion of the World, he is immediately swallowed up by REPORTERS who are demanding interviews in Italian, German, English...

An impromptu party in the paddock area. The victor’s garland still round his neck, proudly holding the FIA World Champion trophy, his hair matted with champagne, NIKI passes through the crowds, accepting everyone’s congratulations..

He runs into JAMES, who’s in bare feet as usual. MARLENE is pulled away to talk to someone else..

NIKI turns to MARLENE, “Let’s go”..

JAMES’s Mini roars furiously up the long gravel driveway towards Easton Neston. Screeches to a halt.

JAMES gets out of the car. Is greeted by staff, whom he uncharacteristically ignores, storming past...

JAMES walks into the workshops where BUBBLES HORSLEY is busy doing something...

JAMES stops, noticing BUBBLES’s expression...

Then JAMES notices what BUBBLES is doing. He’s packing.

Then JAMES notices the lack of activity in the workshops. None of the usual mechanics, or engineers..

BUBBLES looks up. Unsure how to break it to him.

An old drawing-room. The open fire roars. But HESKETH is uncharacteristically quiet. Defeated..

JAMES stares at a devastated HESKETH...

JAMES is on the phone to his brother PETER, while playing Scale-electrix cars on a track alone, barefoot...

“Crash”, the electric toy car crashes...

“Click”, JAMES hangs up. SUZY walks in. Sees his mood..

JAMES opens a bottle of Scotch, pours himself a drink...

JAMES knocks back the drink...

JAMES carries on drinking..

JAMES doesn’t react...

SUZY picks up her coat, and bag..

SUZY stares...and goes. JAMES carries on drinking.

The following morning. The phone rings. Piercing the darkness. JAMES, clearly the worse for wear, is talking to his beloved budgies...

A surprising vulnerability, and childlike innocence about JAMES. He strokes the birds with real tenderness..

The phone continues ringing. JAMES picks it up...

JAMES listens, then hears something on the phone that makes him sit up...

JAMES is waking rapidly now..

JAMES starts scribbling down the address.

The headquarters of McLaren Racing in Colnbrook, Bucks.

A small, unassuming building on the Poyle Trading Estate. Bare brickwork surrounds a brash yellow facade, with the words ‘MCLAREN RACING’ in large white letters.

A large boardroom. Team Director TEDDY MAYER (American, from Pennsylvania, short, lawyerly, 50’s - hair turning grey) sits at the head of the table.

Next to him is Aussie Marlboro spokesman JOHN HOGAN and McLaren Team Manager and chief mechanic ALASTAIR CALDWELL.

The atmosphere is tense, uncomfortable...

JAMES stares imploringly..

CALDWELL, HOGAN and MAYER look at one another...

Various shots, to establish. South Africa in the apartheid era. We notice black race FANS unable to get into the track..

CAPTION: “THE 1976 FORMULA 1 SEASON”

Crowds flood to the spectator stands. The pit lane stretches into the distance, filled with cars, drivers and mechanics...

We pick out RICHARD BURTON and LIZ TAYLOR waving to screaming FANS.

100EXT. STARTING GRID - KYALAMI - DAY 100

NIKI and JAMES’s cars lined up in positions 1 and 2 on the starting grid. JAMES proudly indicates to NIKI...

NIKI calls after JAMES as he walks to his car...

JAMES turns, makes a ratty face at NIKI. Protruding teeth.

101EXT. VIP GRANDSTAND - DAY 101

RICHARD BURTON and LIZ TAYLOR are shown into the VIP area of the paddock. They take their seats.

An OFFICIAL introduces BURTON to various people - among them SUZY HUNT...

There it is. The deep, dark, sonorous Welsh baritone voice...scarred by alcohol and cigarettes...

101CONTINUED: 101

He indicates LIZ who is deeply bored..

SUZY smiles. Their eyes meet. And no eyes are more beautiful than SUZY’s. An immediate connection between them.

Their hands hold a fraction too long as they shake...

102OMITTED 102

103OMITTED 103

104EXT. RACE TRACK - DAY 104

NIKI’s car roars past the finishing line first. JAMES closely behind...

CAPTION: “SOUTH AFRICA. LAUDA WINS. HUNT SECOND.”

104AEXT. PODIUM - KYALAMI - DAY 104A

JAMES and NIKI are on the podium together...

105OMITTED 105

106OMITTED 106

107OMITTED 107

108EXT. SPANISH GRAND PRIX - JARAMA, 2ND MAY 1976- DAY 108

JAMES’s car takes the chequered flag, finishing first!!!

108AINT/EXT. MCLAREN PITS 108A

In the pits: TEDDY MAYER, ALASTAIR CALDWELL and JOHN HOGAN leap to their feet in delight. Punching the air. Victory..

CAPTION: “RACE 3. SPAIN. HUNT WINS...”

108BEXT. SPANISH GRAND PRIX PODIUM/ PITLANE 108B

Afterwards: JAMES and NIKI are on the podium together...

JAMES walks off, to celebrate with the McLaren team...

NIKI stares darkly - threatened - watching JAMES go..

...then goes to talk to LUCA DE MONTEZEMOLO and the FERRARI team.

CAPTION: “...BUT IS THEN DISQUALIFIED”.

109EXT. SPANISH GP PADDOCK/ PARC FERME- DAY 109

A huge furore as several OFFICIALS and FERRARI TEAM MEMBERS, and TV CREWS surround JAMES’s car...

Raised voices debating the width of the car, HUNT furious, people almost coming to blows...

The two rival PIT CREWS, (McLaren and Ferrari), scream abuse at one another in Italian and English - a highly charged and explosive atmosphere....

CAPTION: “LAUDA GETS MAXIMUM POINTS”

109CONTINUED: 109

NIKI watches from the inside of the FERRARI TRAILER.

110INT. MCLAREN WORKSHOP - NIGHT 110

The McLaren MECHANICS, supervised by Alastair Caldwell, are making adjustments to the car to make it ‘legal’..

JAMES watches - already fearing the worst - as the car is stripped down, effectively being rebuilt...

111OMITTED 111

111AEXT. WATKINS GLEN 1976 - DAY 111A

“BANG”, JAMES’s car shudders violently, the wheels shake as the drive shaft snaps...

CAPTION: “RACE 4. LAUDA WINS. HUNT RETIRES.”

111BEXT. MONACO GRAND PRIX 1976- DAY 111B

“BOOM”, a loud explosion. A thick plume of black smoke billows from the engine...

CAPTION: “RACE 5. LAUDA WINS AGAIN. HUNT RETIRES.”

111CEXT. BELGIUM GP 1976 - ZOLDER - DAY 111C

“CRASH” - JAMES spins out...and a tyre bounces along the track...JAMES’s car has crashed into a wall...

The tyre continues bouncing, people diving out of it’s path, before the tyre finally smashes into a hot-dog stand...

CAPTION: “RACE 6. LAUDA WINS AGAIN. HUNT RETIRES.”

111CCONTINUED: 111C

112OMITTED 112

113EXT. BELGIUM GRAND PRIX - ZOLDER - PITLANE - DAY 113

JAMES storms back into the pits, screaming at MAYER, CALDWELL and the MECHANICS...

CAPTION: “LAUDA 56 POINTS, HUNT 6”

113AINT. PADDOCK/PRESS TENT - DAY 113A

Later: the victorious NIKI, wearing the garland, is all smiles, giving ‘winner’ interviews, surrounded by MARLENE and a delighted LUCA DI MONTEZEMOLO.

JAMES is also giving interviews, but in a total fury. Vibrating with anger. Still complaining about the disqualification. Complaining about a conspiracy. Complaining.

NIKI finishes talking to JOURNALISTS, and walks off, through crowds, and bumps into JAMES..

113ACONTINUED: 113A

NIKI turns to MARLENE, speaks in German...

NIKI and MARLENE go. JAMES is left staring. Not understanding.

114INT/EXT. ZOLDER PADDOCK/ MCLAREN TRUCK - DAY 114

JAMES walks into the crowded MCLAREN pits. Sees TEDDY MAYER and ALASTAIR CALDWELL...

CALDWELL nervously indicates the Sunday newspapers...

JAMES looks at the newspapers, then his expression changes.

114CONTINUED: 114

Lurid headlines about SUZY HUNT in New York with RICHARD BURTON. Pictures all over the front pages of RICHARD BURTON, ELIZABETH TAYLOR, SUZY and JAMES. JAMES’s face falls..

115EXT. RUNWAY - DAY 115

A jumbo jet roars down the runway and takes off...

116OMITTED 116

117EXT. MANHATTAN - DAY 117

The unmistakable skyline. Among the ten thousand craggy rooftops and skyscrapers...

A grand, five-star hotel overlooking Central Park in Manhattan’s mid-town district...

118EXT. HOTEL - MANHATTAN - DAY 118

A huge collection of paparazzi SNAPPERS and Journalist HACKS is camped outside the hotel.

Immediately a surge of activity, “Here he is”...

A burst of flashlights and a volley of questions from the JOURNALISTS as JAMES - gets out of the taxi and runs the gauntlet of humiliation...

...into the hotel..

119OMITTED 119

120OMITTED 120

121INT. HOTEL SUITE - DAY 121

A large hotel suite. There are flowers everywhere. Newspapers are all over the table.

JAMES sits opposite SUZY. He sees an expensive gift; recently opened. A diamond necklace..

SUZY nods. Even the uninitiated eye can tell: it’s worth a fortune.

121CONTINUED: 121

A flicker behind JAMES’s eyes. Failure.

JAMES manages a brave smile.

121CONTINUED: (2) 121

JAMES notices the vast unmade bed. Where, until recently, two people had slept.

121AEXT. HOTEL - MANHATTAN - DAY 121A

JAMES emerges from the hotel - into the storm of paparazzi again. He manages a brave smile...

Laughter from the JOURNALISTS who are hungrily writing down the copy. But JAMES’s hollow smile fools no one...

122INT. JUMBO JET - FIRST CLASS - DAY 122

JAMES sits alone in the first class section. A loser on the track, and a loser in love, too. Being played out in the full glare of publicity. On the front pages. Being read by everyone on the plane.

A STEWARDESS looks over, catches his eye. Smiles.

123INT. JUMBO JET - WC - DAY 123

JAMES and the STEWARDESS fucking. Hard.

Nothing to do with pleasure. An analgesic - a way of blocking out the pain. JAMES catches his own reflection in the mirror. Teeth clenched. Eyes burning with anger and self-loathing...

OVER THIS: we fade in the ROAR of car engines...

123AINT. FRENCH GP 1976 - PAUL RICARD - 4TH JULY 1976 123A

JAMES’s teeth still clenched. Eyes still burning with anger. Driving flat out. At the limit.

123ACONTINUED: 123A

Suzy’s words still ringing in his ears.

Make that beyond the limit. At the point of no return. The car shaking. Weaving recklessly through other cars...

Where death has become a real option.

Because he doesn’t care anymore. Because it’s all he deserves anyway...

And in that moment, in reaching his lowest point, JAMES has unwittingly stumbled on the one thing that gives him an advantage over everyone else...

The fact that he doesn’t care. The fact that death has become an option. The fact that there is no risk he is not prepared to take...

So every corner is tighter, every braking point later, every gap is an opening, no matter how tiny...

124EXT. FRENCH GRAND PRIX 1976 - PAUL RICARD - DAY 124

The chequered flag waves as JAMES’s car roars across the finish line...

JAMES screams with released rage....

CAPTION: “RACE 7. HUNT WINS. LAUDA’s ENGINE BLOWS UP”

125INT. MCLAREN PITS - PAUL RICARD - DAY 125

Afterwards: TEDDY MAYER, ALASTAIR CALDWELL and JOHN HOGAN celebrate in delight...cheering...

126OMITTED 126

126AEXT. BRITISH GRAND PRIX - 18TH JULY 1976- DAY 126A

NIKI’s car is pursued by JAMES’s. They disappear behind a copse of trees. Out of sight.

When they re-emerge, JAMES is ahead of NIKI, having overtaken him - to the delight of the partisan crowd.

The chequered flag waves again as JAMES’s car roars across the finish line...

CAPTION: “RACE 8. HUNT WINS. LAUDA 2nd.”

JAMES screams in catharsis and triumph. Teeth clenched. Eyes wide and staring with concentration.

126ACONTINUED: 126A

We notice SCREAMING GIRL FANS cheering him now.

127OMITTED 127

128EXT. FIA HEADQUARTERS - DAY 128

A blazer-wearing FIA OFFICIAL addresses a room full of sports and motoring JOURNALISTS, TV CREWS, etc...

129INT. MCLAREN HQ - BRANDS HATCH -DAY 129

JAMES, TEDDY MAYER, ALASTAIR CALDWELL, and all the MECHANICS are watching on TV...

Huge celebrations. Cheering and whooping. SCREAMING GIRLS.

130OMITTED 130

131EXT. BRAND’S HATCH - PRESS TENT - DAY 131

A crowded PRESS room. In opposite corners of the room, JAMES and NIKI are giving interviews to different PRESS and TV journalists. Stirling Moss is talking to JAMES...

Screaming GIRLS in the background, shouting “James, we love you.” JAMES stares across the room at NIKI...

In the other corner: NIKI is doing his interviews in German, (we see sub-titles)...

131CONTINUED: 131

Laughter among the confident GERMANS.

NIKI takes MARLENE’s hand, and leads her away.

132EXT. VIENNESE REGISTRY OFFICE - DAY 132

To establish: the Viennese skyline.

133INT. REGISTRY OFFICE - DAY 133

NIKI and MARLENE get married. In stark contrast to JAMES’s wedding...it’s a small, intimate affair. Modest. Not showy. Away from the cameras. Just them. And a witness from the pub.

134EXT. AIRFIELD - DAY 134

A small aeroplane takes off...

135INT. AEROPLANE - DAY 135

NIKI and an INSTRUCTOR are in the plane. In the cockpit. With MARLENE, who watches...

NIKI is learning to fly.

MARLENE watches as NIKI soaks up the instruction, asking questions, happy. It’s another side to him, completely.

136EXT. IBIZA - NIGHT 136

NIKI and MARLENE in a pool. In Ibiza. Playing. Laughing. Honeymooning.

Then NIKI’s expression changes. His smile fades.

137INT. BEDROOM - HOUSE - IBIZA - NIGHT 137

MARLENE is fast asleep. She wakes, to discover the bed is empty beside her..

138INT. HOUSE - IBIZA - NIGHT 138

MARLENE walks through the house, looking for NIKI. Then finds him on a balcony...alone..

MARLENE notices his mood. It’s different.

NIKI looks up at MARLENE...

MARLENE stares at him.

MARLENE turns, and goes..

NIKI is left alone. We can tell from his expression, he is struggling with something for the first time. Fear.

139EXT. NURBURGRING - DAY 139

The notoriously difficult and treacherous German race track.

Testing is underway. A CAR (from one of the other teams) skids, and crashes violently.

139AEXT. NURBURGRING - CRASH SITE - DAY 139A

AMBULANCES arrive. The Driver is badly hurt. Screaming in pain. His leg is crushed. Bone is sticking out. A brutal compound fracture. He is taken away.

139BINT/EXT. NURBURGRING PITLANE - DAY 139B

In the pits, everyone is shaken. JAMES, REGAZZONI, and other DRIVERS nervously talk among themselves as the Ambulance races past.

NIKI’s face: visibly pale. More frightened than ever.

140EXT. NURBURGRING - DAY 140

Race-day. Huge crowds arrive at the Nurburgring. And rain. Heavy rain falling.

Television commentary informs us about the Nurburgring’s terrible reputation as a ‘graveyard’ track.

141EXT. NURBURGRING - DAY 141

JAMES arrives at the race track, to find ALASTAIR CALDWELL waiting for him, a concerned look on his face...

JAMES’s face. Instantly suspicious.

142INT. MEETING ROOM - NURBURGRING RACE TRACK - DAY 142

About sixty people, (26 DRIVERS and all the different team REPRESENTATIVES), are assembled in the room, where a blazered FIA OFFICIAL and a member of the DRIVERS SAFETY COMMITTEE are sitting behind a table...

A buzz of anticipation and curiosity. What’s going on? What is all this about? NIKI gets to his feet, raises his hands calling for silence...

142CONTINUED: 142

A ripple of astonished reactions among the drivers..

TEDDY MAYER looks over at FERRARI representatives....

Another DRIVER (GUY EDWARDS) gets to his feet...

Another voice pierces the controversy...

VOICE It also means you would effectively win the championship.

It’s JAMES HUNT, who is standing up...

142CONTINUED: (2) 142

Uproar in the room...

Laughter among the DRIVERS...

Silence. No hand goes up. No one has the courage to own up.

A stunned silence. One voice pierces the room...

It’s JAMES who stares at NIKI: a ripple of excitement and enthusiasm among the other drivers...

142CONTINUED: (3) 142

NIKI puts his hand up. One or two other racers, too...

JAMES puts his hand up. Clearly the more popular, charismatic figure among the DRIVERS, everyone else follows.

A clear victory for JAMES. He has swung the room.

Everyone leaves the room. JAMES and TEDDY MAYER give one another a discreet hi-five...

But we rack focus through the crowd to see NIKI staring at JAMES accusingly...holding his gaze.

143EXT. STARTING GRID - DAY 143

“RRRROAAAR”, an explosion of noise, as we widen and find ourselves on the starting grid of the German Grand Prix.

An OFFICIAL walks through the cars holding aloft a sign, “One Minute”...

Deafening, angry thunder, as cars rev their engines.

143AAN EYE FLICKERS - WIDE OPEN - STARING INTENTLY 143A

A pupil dilates and contracts in the light. The eye stares. Blinks. Thinks. Making evaluations..

144EXT. CLOUDY SKY - GERMANY - DAY 144

This time the eye belongs to JAMES. He stares up at the clouds.

His eyelids flicker. Thinking. Agonizing. Wrestling with an all important decision...

Is it going to carry on raining? Or become dry?

ALASTAIR CALDWELL comes up to JAMES, and shouts above the noise - no time to plug his headset in...

144CONTINUED: 144

JAMES looks in his wing-mirror back to his colleague, JOCHEN MASS’s car, number 12, several rows behind him.

White helmet. A team of Mclaren MECHANICS hastily changing the tyres to bald, dry tyres - (’slicks’). Then JAMES looks over at the car beside him...

NIKI’s car: surrounded by Italian Ferrari MECHANICS.

JAMES pulls down his visor...as he and NIKI’s eyes meet for a split-second, then...

The STARTER waves the flag. They’re off!

JAMES’s foot hits the floor - his engine screams at almost 9,000 rpms, drowning out the roar of the 180,000 crowd. The car is catapaulted forward, the wheel-spin leaving livid black scars on the asphalt..

JAMES and NIKI both make good starts, and are neck and neck, but within seconds there’s a McLaren right behind them, gaining fast.

JAMES realizes it’s his team-mate, JOCHEN MASS in a white helmet. Number 12. On his slick tyres.

MASS was right to gamble on the track drying out. JAMES curses under his breath...

JAMES screwed up. Made the wrong decision. He urgently needs to change tyres. With barely one lap completed...

He swerves angrily into the pits..

145INT. PITS - DAY 145

Commentary from all the world’s TV stations explaining the crazy, panicked situation as JAMES comes into the pits to change to dry tyres.

The McLaren team frantically changes the tyres. Four men with air guns, two men with rapid-duty jacks.

ALASTAIR CALDWELL appears, talks to JAMES..

JAMES looks in his mirror to see NIKI’s red helmet behind him in the pits, then...

“Thump”, new (slick) tyres hit the tarmac. JAMES gets the signal, ‘Clear!’

JAMES’s foot hits the floor. He roars out, with new tyres, leaving NIKI behind him in the pits...

146EXT. NUBURGRING - DAY 146

Archive commentary: from the world’s TV stations informs us that JAMES roars up into 3rd position..

147INT. JAMES’S CAR - DAY 147

JAMES gives it everything he’s got. Tearing through the gears, breaking as late as he can, engine screaming.

The world flies past in a blur. The steering wheel shakes. The car cannot be driven any harder. No thought for safety. No thought of failure..

Failure is unimaginable. Unconscionable.

He turns into the final straight, then stops when he sees something ahead.

147CONTINUED: 147

Flags. Red flags. RACE MARSHALLS. Something has clearly happened. An accident..

The race is being stopped. JAMES brakes, slowing down. He pulls level with a uniformed MARSHALL..

148INT. NIKI’S CAR - SAME TIME 148

NIKI’s POV: a continuation of the opening scene. Burning smoke fills NIKI’s helmet, burning his lungs. He cries out in agony.

We can just make out the barely recognizable figures of the other DRIVERS rushing towards him, as their hands get burnt in the flames as they try unsuccessfully to undo his seatbelt...

We notice it is the same DRIVERS that were critical of NIKI in the driver’s meeting. HARALD ERTL, BRETT LUNGER, ARTURO MERZARIO, GUY EDWARDS...

Fire extinguishers blast at the car. Covering NIKI’s helmet. Filling his lungs with chemicals, along with the smoke and fumes, blurring his vision, as he screams horribly..

The sound of panicked TV COMMENTARY in different languages. Screaming voices. Panicked reactions.

Then sound fades. As NIKI blacks out - losing consciousness.

FADE TO BLACK:

OVER THIS: the hypnotic sound of helicopter blades...

149EXT. MANNHEIM UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - DAY 149

NIKI’s POV: the door to a helicopter opens, as it arrives at Mannheim University Hospital...

The sound of shouting voices. Hospital STAFF pull reach towards NIKI, pull his stretcher out.

NIKI’s internal voice groans: cries out at the pain.

150INT. MANNHEIM UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL - DAY 150

“Crash”, doors burst open and NIKI is rushed into emergency. Neon ceiling lights pass overhead...

The sound of difficult breathing.

His stretcher is surrounded by DOCTORS, talking urgently, making quick assessments..

NIKI’s POV: fading in and out of consciousness.

Bursts of concerned, urgent, overlapping dialogue among the German DOCTORS which NIKI can barely make out..

151INT. INTENSIVE CARE UNIT - MANNHEIM HOSPITAL - DAY 151

Two narrow, barely open slits of light. NIKI’s swollen eye- lids. NIKI’s POV: barely making out MARLENE standing beside the senior burns specialist DOCTOR. NIKI hears voices...

NIKI slips out of consciousness again. MARLENE is distraught, in tears.

152OMITTED 152

153OMITTED 153

154TELEVISION NEWS - FULL-FRAME 154

TV news: giving the latest information on NIKI’s condition.

155INT. JAMES’S APARTMENT - LONDON - NIGHT 155

JAMES sits watching the news on TV in his apartment, while feeding his budgerigars, (the collection has grown)..

He feels terrible. He goes to his desk, pulls out paper and pen...

JAMES tries to find the right words, tries to write, tries to put his feelings on paper, but words in general, and letters in particular have never been his thing...

JAMES scrunches up the pieces of paper, throws it away. The budgerigars, sensing his distress, flutter and peep..

156INT. INTENSIVE CARE UNIT - DAY 156

NIKI’s P.O.V: feels someone touching his forehead and his hands with oil...and the sound of a WOMAN weeping...

NIKI’s eyes barely crack open, barely manage to focus to see an ELDERLY PRIEST is giving him the last rites in German..

The sound of MARLENE crying somewhere in the room.

NIKI strains to move. A sense of excruciating pain.

He fights to open his eyes, give an indication...ANY indication of the fact that he is hearing this, and is alive and able to fight for life...

But to no avail. The PRIEST continues giving last rites. MARLENE continues to cry. The PRIEST touches NIKI’s shoulder...

156CONTINUED: 156

NIKI screams inside. Wanting to be heard. Wanting to give them a sign. He’s OK. He’s still there. But it’s no use.

NIKI blacks out again. The pain is too great.

FADE TO BLACK:

157INT. CORRIDOR - HOSPITAL - DAY 157

Sunrise: MARLENE has been sitting in the hospital all night supported by members of FAMILY and several FRIENDS.

Niki’s MOTHER and FATHER. CLAY REGAZZONI.

Presently: the door to the intensive care unit opens and a DOCTOR comes out, beckoning her...

MARLENE scrambles to her feet...

MARLENE covers her mouth, laughs nervously, already in tears. She and the DOCTOR rush into the intensive care unit.

158EXT. INTENSIVE CARE UNIT - DAY 158

Shooting through the window we see MARLENE approach NIKI’s bed. She sees NIKI..

And gasps. Trying to control her expression. Not give away to him how horrified she is.

NIKI’s face: is grotesque. His head has swollen to double it’s size. The skin has burned off on his head, his eyes.

MARLENE bravely composes herself. Then, without displaying the shock she feels - she goes over and kisses him.

159OMITTED 159

160INT. NIKI’S HOSPITAL ROOM/TELEVISION COVERAGE FULL FRAME -DAY160

The starter’s flag drops. On television we see the Austrian Grand Prix start.

NIKI watches the race on television, while beginning his rehab in bed, in pain as bandages are changed..

ON TV: JAMES narrowly misses out on a podium, but still gains on NIKI in his points total...

CAPTION: “RACE 11. HUNT FINISHES 4th”

161INT. HOSPITAL - DAY - (A WEEK LATER) 161

NIKI continues his rehab in the hospital, now out of bed...

ON TV: the starter’s flag drops. Another Grand Prix starts. This time at Zandvoort, in the Netherlands..

NIKI watches the race on television as DOCTORS put a vacuuum pump into his lungs. It’s AGONY. JAMES leads, driving the perfect race...

An unimaginably painful pump is forced down his burned lungs, to try to hoover out the impurities..

COMMENTATORS ON TV: talk about how HUNT is catching up with LAUDA on points. It spurs NIKI on, through gritted teeth.

The chequered flag. JAMES crosses the line in first position.

CAPTION: “RACE 12. HUNT WINS.”

The DOCTORS tell NIKI he’s had enough vacuum treatment. He’s had more than enough pain. But NIKI waves them aside...

The DOCTOR nods. The vacuum is turned on again.

NIKI screams in agony. Eyes bulging. MARLENE and NIKI’s family cannot bear to watch...

161CONTINUED: 161

He watches as ON TV: JAMES is on the victory podium spraying champagne.

162INT. HOSPITAL - DAY 162

NIKI continues screaming in pain, watching the Canadian GP on TV as..

CAPTION: “RACE 13 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX. HUNT WINS AGAIN”

For the first time, JAMES has taken the lead in points. NIKI stares at the TV: his expression changes.

163OMITTED 163

164INT. HOSPITAL - DAY 164

NIKI screams again. MARLENE, NIKI’s family and the DOCTORS are deeply distressed, cannot bring themselves to watch, as...

We WIDEN to reveal what NIKI is doing. What has caused these unbearable, bloodcurdling screams of agony..

Now we see. With great difficulty NIKI has put his racing helmet on for the first time. Pressing into his open burn wounds...

He is almost unconscious with pain. His legs are weak. But he has done it...

165EXT. ITALIAN GRAND PRIX - MONZA - 12TH SEPT 1976 -DAY 165

The Italian Grand Prix. TELEVISION COMMENTARY sets the scene.

JAMES and the MCLAREN TEAM arrive in the pits to see a vast commotion going on elsewhere...

165CONTINUED: 165

JAMES stares. Shaken.

166EXT. MONZA PITLANE/ FERRARI PITS - DAY 166

JAMES pushes through the pitlanes, until he reaches the crowded FERRARI pits. He sees a racer in the background. The name LAUDA on his overalls...

NIKI turns round. JAMES sets eyes on him for the first time.

JAMES reels, visibly horrified by his appearance. His bandages are blood stained. He has no hair. Looks grotesque..

NIKI sees the horror in JAMES’s face. Sees the shock. The horror. And recognizes in that moment, this is how it’s going to be - this is how people will respond to him - forever.

JAMES opens his mouth. Tries to say something.

NIKI stares at JAMES, at his rival’s beauty, his blonde, tanned perfection. His matinee idol, movie star looks...

166CONTINUED: 166

Ouch. That could have been meant generously. But in this case it wasn’t. It was a cold slap in the face.

NIKI turns and goes.

167INT. MONZA GRAND PRIX - PRESS CONFERENCE - DAY 167

A packed press conference. The world’s media. NIKI’s accident and recovery (as a story) has reached way beyond F1 race fans. This is front page news around the globe..

NIKI walks out onto the podium - all eyes staring at him - the sense of a ghoulish, voyeuristic freak show....

NIKI sits on the podium, in front of microphones, flanked on both sides by FERRARI drivers and top brass. But no one wants to talk to them. Everyone’s here to talk to NIKI..

167CONTINUED: 167

Laughter. At the back of the hall, JAMES HUNT creeps in, (unseen by anyone, disguised in a hat), to listen.

Laughter.

Laughter.

Laughter.

167CONTINUED: (2) 167

Laughter.

Silence. NIKI squints into the lights..

No one moves. NIKI, disgusted, rips off his microphone..

NIKI walks out. The Press Conference breaks up...

JAMES sees the REPORTER who asked the question, laughing with his friends. JAMES watches as the REPORTER leaves...

168INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE PRESS CONFERENCE - SAME TIME 168

JAMES goes after the REPORTER, and calls him..

The REPORTER turns, recognizes JAMES..

The BRITISH JOURNALIST smiles, “Great, thanks James!” Pulls out a tape recorder. JAMES takes him to one side, then...

“WHACK, WHACK, WHACK” - JAMES punches his lights out, then takes the tape recorder, stuffs it into the JOURNALISTS mouth.

168CONTINUED: 168

“CRASH” a final, sickening blow splits the REPORTER’s nose..

169EXT. STARTING GRID - MONZA - DAY 169

JAMES walks out to his car. TV CREWS. Banks of PHOTOGRAPHERS. Commentators talk in different languages.

Everyone talking about NIKI’s comeback.

NIKI is in his car. The MECHANICS are talking to him in Italian...

But NIKI hears nothing. He looks at the steering wheel, the shell of the car, the gear stick. And then we see..

His hands are shaking violently. He’s utterly terrified.

The light turns green. They’re off!

Other cars (including JAMES’s), roar forward. But NIKI is frozen.

170EXT. TRACK - DAY 170

NIKI’s mind is a mess - terrified - he starts slowly...finding his courage..

COMMENTATORS point out it’s madness. It was clearly too soon. Ferrari were right to hire a replacement. NIKI is a wreck..

NIKI suffers terrible flashbacks from his accident...

NIKI shakes himself out...gradually building up speed - ignoring the cars overtaking him all around him...

NIKI begins to accelerate. Gently at first. Then a bit more. Trusting himself. Gaining confidence..

Blocking out further flashbacks...

170AINT. HOSPITAL - DAY 170A

Watching NIKI from the hospital where he had his treatment is the DOCTOR who treated him...

170BEXT. TRACK - DAY 170B

COMMENTATORS look up. Notice NIKI’s slow increase in speed. What’s this? Maybe there’s life in him yet...

NIKI changes gears smoothly. He begins to overtake. The old feelings come back..

170CEXT. PADDOCK/PITS - SAME TIME 170C

MARLENE watches from the pits. Can hardly bring herself to look...

170DEXT. TRACK - DAY 170D

COMMENTATORS begin to get excited. LAUDA has started to overtake the back-markers...

An incredible sequence. As NIKI gains more confidence, more speed, and begins to work his way through the field..

COMMENTATORS now buzzing with excitement. This is incredible, as NIKI overtakes first CARLOS REUTEMANN, the driver hired to replace him, then others, working his way through the field...

170EINT. JAMES’S CAR - SAME TIME 170E

JAMES sees NIKI coming up behind him. Cannot believe his eyes. JAMES move to block NIKI’s path...

NIKI attacks fearlessly. Despite terrible pain. NIKI moves to overtake JAMES.

Utterly intimidated by NIKI’s bravery, JAMES panics, and loses control of the car. He spins out..

COMMENTATORS cannot believe their eyes. HUNT’s blown it! LAUDA’s overtaken him!

It’s a miracle. It defies belief. As NIKI crosses the line....

CAPTION: “RACE 15. NIKI 4th. JAMES RETIRED.”

171OMITTED 171

172EXT. MONZA - DAY 172

The Italian crowds are ecstatic. Delirious. NIKI is a national hero. Lazarus back from the dead. Superhuman.

172CONTINUED: 172

TV commentary in different languages elaborates on what an extraordinary, superhuman achievement they have just seen...

CAPTION: “LAUDA 68 POINTS. HUNT 65 POINTS.”

Hunt walks past, staring at a triumphant Niki.

172AINT. HOSPITAL - SAME TIME 172A

The DOCTOR in the hospital shakes his head, cannot believe what he has just witnessed...

172BEXT. PITS - SAME TIME 172B

The Ferrari Mechanics that had initially so disliked NIKI, are overwhelmed by what he has achieved...

172CEXT. TRACK - DAY 172C

A reluctant, modest NIKI carried on shoulders, surrounded by LUCA DI MONTEZEMOLO, MARLENE and the PRESS...

173EXT. FUJI SPEEDWAY - JAPAN - DAY 173

Mount Fuji towers imperiously, dramatically above the Japanese race track, dominating the skyline on a clear day..

Television cameras and press photographers assemble at the race track for the biggest sporting event of the year...

174INT. JAMES’S HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT 174

JAMES sits alone in his hotel suite. Speaking to an old, trusted friend at the other end...

174AINT. BUBBLES HORSELY HOME - MORNING 174A

BUBBLES HORSLEY back at home in England. At a breakfast table..

174BINT. JAMES’S HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT 174B

A knock at JAMES’s hotel room door..

JAMES hangs up, and goes to the door. He snaps it open to reveal..

Two gorgeous-looking BOAC Stewardesses standing outside. Smart blue blazers, short skirts, white gloves, blue caps..

Sure enough: on JAMES’s door, the number 2109.

174BCONTINUED: 174B

JAMES can’t believe it. NIKI.

JAMES closes the door. Goes back into his hotel room. Then, after a moment...

He snaps open the door. The STEWARDESSES are about to disappear into the elevator...

175EXT. TOKYO SKYLINE - DAWN 175

The following morning, day barely breaks. The skies are ominously dark over Tokyo. Thick, black clouds.

It’s raining heavily...

176INT. NIKI’S BEDROOM - HOTEL - DAY 176

NIKI wakes up and looks out of the window. Sees the heavy rain which is falling outside...

His expression changes.

177INT. JAMES’S BEDROOM - HOTEL - DAY 177

JAMES wakes up. Flinches. JAMES looks around, bleary-eyed. Hungover.

He’s in a room that looks like a bomb has hit it.

177CONTINUED: 177

The two STEWARDESSES are still asleep in the bed beside him. Uniforms discarded on the floor.

Memories are now flooding back. Jesus, what was he THINKING? JAMES leaps out of bed.

178INT. NIKI’S ROOM - HOTEL - DAY 178

NIKI is being massaged by WILLI DUNGL in his hotel room in preparation for the race.

NIKI continues to stare out of the window. They speak in German. We see sub-titles..

NIKI’s POV: the view. Nothing but mist, dark skies and rain.

179OMITTED 179

180EXT. JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - FUJI SPEEDWAY - 24TH OCT 1976 -DAY180

Inside the race track: puddles everywhere. The rain continues to fall. The circuit is covered in water...

DRIVERS and the TEAMS arrive at the race track. JAMES and TEDDY MAYER and ALASTAIR CALDWELL among them...

SPECTATORS are huddled under umbrellas. TV CREWS struggle to keep expensive equipment dry...

An American VOICE comes over the tannoy...

JAMES looks at CALDWELL...

181INT. CONTROL TOWER - MEETING ROOM - DAY 181

A driver’s meeting has been called. All the DRIVERS are in a small room, arguing and remonstrating with FIA OFFICIALS and blazer-wearing POWERS THAT BE...

A Japanese official, (AKIYAMA), is trying to keep the peace...

Local JAPANESE DRIVERS are complaining in Japanese, (we see sub-titles)...

181AINT. CONTROL TOWER - CORRIDOR OUTSIDE - SAME TIME 181A

JAMES, MAYER and CALDWELL arrive in a corridor outside the meeting room...

JAMES’s POV: he can see NIKI, his wounds horribly visible, remonstrating with the JAPANESE OFFICIAL about the dangerous track conditions...

JAMES turns to TEDDY and ALASTAIR...

JAMES raises his hands and walks off. CALDWELL shouts after him, “James, wait..!” Then MAYER reassures CALDWELL...

181ACONTINUED: 181A

MAYER can see that a vote is taking place in the room. Many of the drivers have their hands in the air, voting...

The JAPANESE OFFICIAL is struggling to keep order in the room.

A round of applause in the room, as the DRIVERS vote to cancel the race. But unseen by the DRIVERS..

The FIA OFFICIALS, TV NETWORK EXECUTIVES, and the blazered POWERS THAT BE are in dark, conspiratorial discussion..

...making the decision that the race goes ahead.

182ARCHIVE TELEVISION FOOTAGE 182

NEWSCASTERS from all over the world, in several different languages, announce that a decision has been made..

The JAPANESE Grand Prix is definitely going ahead. The drivers have been called to the starting grid...

183OMITTED 183

184INT. PITS - VARIOUS - DAY 184

In the pits alongside JAMES...

A series of shots of the other DRIVERS...being sent out like lambs to the slaughter...

Visibly terrified, mouthing prayers, smoking last cigarettes, meditating, crossing themselves, hands shaking..

Among them the JAPANESE DRIVERS. All laughter gone now. Realizing what they’ve got into. Risking their lives.

Finally we come to rest on NIKI. Strangely calm.

NIKI puts on his balaclava over his still-raw wounds, wincing with pain as he puts on his helmet..

185EXT. JAPANESE GP - STARTING GRID - DAY 185

JAMES is piggy-backed to his car by MECHANICS so his feet don’t get soaked in the water pooling deep on the track.

186EXT. JAPANESE GP - STARTING GRID - DAY 186

JAMES lowers himself into a car with puddles on the seat. He straps himself in.

ALISTAIR CALDWELL approaches with a power-drill. Leans towards JAMES, with the screaming drill...

‘ZZZZ”, “ZZZZ”, “ZZZZ”, CALDWELL drill holes in JAMES’s visor.

CALDWELL stares at JAMES...

CALDWELL gestures, “Nothing”..

They shake hands. JAMES starts the engine with a roar.

187EXT. STARTING GRID - DAY 187

NIKI’s engine replies with a loud roar. He looks over at JAMES. JAMES turns to face NIKI..

ALL SOUND GOES SILENT...

...as JAMES and NIKI stare at one another. All around them, the world slows down. Comes to a standstill.

187CONTINUED: 187

THEIR EYES MEET...

A connection between them. Unspoken realization of where they have both got to. What this moment means. For them both..

It’s what they have been waiting for. Working towards. All this time.

NIKI raises his hand. In a gesture only JAMES sees. JAMES raises his in return. A private salute.

Chivalric. From a bygone era. And in that moment, enemies become brothers. Two men. Risking their lives.

THE TEN SECOND FLAG IS RAISED..

The moment’s truce is broken. They return to the task at hand.

THE FLAG DROPS. THEY’RE OFF.

188EXT. RACE - JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - DAY 188

HUNT’s foot hits the floor. NIKI’s foot hits the floor...

JAMES gets the better start. His car aquaplanes like crazy, skating over the water, totally out of control...

189EXT. FUJI PIT WALL - DAY 189

CALDWELL and MAYER watch from the pit wall...

190EXT. RACE - JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - DAY 190

Miraculously JAMES steadies the car...

The spray from his wheels creates a curtain of mist. The other cars are wrapped inside it...

But JAMES has a clear view ahead. He slams his foot down..

191INT. NIKI’S CAR - SAME TIME 191

NIKI can see nothing. Surrounded by spray, water, noise.

191CONTINUED: 191

Other cars are spinning all around him. It’s chaos. NIKI bravely accelerates into blindness...

192EXT. RACE - JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - DAY 192

JAMES goes to a corner, then his car twitches, aquaplanes again...badly...almost losing it completely...

193INT. EASTON NESTON - DAY 193

BUBBLES HORSLEY, ALEXANDER HESKETH and a number of the characters from the Hesketh Racing days are all watching...

194INT. JAMES’S CAR - DAY 194

JAMES struggles to hold onto his car. He steadies it, maintaining the lead.

194AINT. NIKI’S CAR - SAME TIME 194A

JAMES’s spray makes it impossible for NIKI to see. NIKI can’t blink his eyes...it’s agony.

Half-blind, NIKI tries to overtake. Gives it everything he’s got, breaking as late as he can, tearing through the gears...

For NIKI the world flies past in a near-blind blur. The steering wheel shakes. The car cannot be driven any harder.

But the visibility is terrible. The spray tears into his scarred eyes. He is unable to see anything but...

MARLENE’s beautiful face: staring at him. Smiling tenderly. Kissing him tenderly.

195OMITTED 195

196OMITTED 196

197EXT. RACE TRACK - JAPAN - SAME TIME 197

JAMES continues to race flat out. Engine screaming. Foot to the floor. His car aquaplanes again...almost skidding out...

198INT. HOTEL - MANHATTAN - SAME TIME 198

SUZY HUNT is watching on television as RICHARD BURTON talks in the background on the telephone...

199EXT. PITS - RACE TRACK - JAPAN - DAY 199

A sign is held up as JAMES races. Lap 39.

But there are problems with the car. One of the tyres...

CALDWELL and TEDDY MAYER watch in horror from the pits and on TV. They can see the shaking car..

199AEXT. PITS - RACE TRACK - JAPAN - DAY 199A

ALASTAIR CALDWELL holds up a sign....

CHANGE TYRE

JAMES’s car roars past the pits, refusing to stop...

199BINT. EASTON NESTON - SAME TIME 199B

HESKETH and BUBBLES cover their eyes. Can’t look...

199CINT. JAMES’S CAR - JAPAN GRAND PRIX - SAME TIME 199C

Suddenly, a Ferrari in JAMES’s wing mirror. Unmistakably, even in the spray, he can see the distinctive RED HELMET...

It’s NIKI. JAMES’s blood runs cold...

JAMES tries to fend NIKI off. Swerves this way and that. But his wounded car is now running at seventy per cent at best...

...and disaster!!! NIKI OVERTAKES HIM...

JAMES screams in agony and frustration. He’s lost it! And has no one to blame but himself! His own arrogance. And stubbornness. NIKI’s overtaken him!

THE CHEQUERED FLAG.

JAMES roars past. Has finished in third place. But that is no consolation. NIKI has beaten him. As far as he’s concerned..

JAMES has lost. Lost everything.

200EXT. PITS - DAY 200

JAMES’s car arrives in the pits. In a fury. At himself. For refusing to listen. What a disgrace. What shame. What a fool. But he is engulfed. JAMES gets out of his car, raging...

But TEDDY MAYER is celebrating wildly. ALASTAIR CALDWELL, too. The world’s media descends on JAMES...

200CONTINUED: 200

TEDDY MAYER takes JAMES’s number ‘11’ from the side of his car, and tears it in two, leaving number ‘1’.

JAMES’s face: as he realizes. Then explodes with happiness.

200AINT. EASTON NESTON - DAY 200A

HESKETH and BUBBLES cheer in celebration...

200BINT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT 200B

A television plays in the Emergency Ward of the hospital. NURSIE catches sight of the victory, patients cheering and applauding...

NURSIE allows herself a smile.

200CINT. HOTEL - MANHATTAN - SAME TIME 200C

BURTON is at the door in tuxedo, waiting to go. SUZY, dressed glamorously, smiles.

Then turns the TV off. And follows BURTON out.

200DEXT. JAPAN GRAND PRIX - DAY 200D

JAMES is embraced by CALDWELL and MAYER.

201EXT. FUJI PADDOCK - HELICOPTER - SAME TIME 201

Across the race-track, the sound of helicopter blades turning. JAMES looks over to see...

NIKI in the helicopter with MARLENE and a PILOT. NIKI, now the ex-World Champion, looks over to see a triumphant JAMES surrounded by press, McLaren colleagues, etc

NIKI turns, takes MARLENE’s hand as he answers.

The helicopter lifts into the air, and flies off...

202EXT. PADDOCK - SAME TIME 202

JAMES watches as the helicopter carrying NIKI flies away, then turns to see...

...the world’s press begins to descend on him, and the biggest party of JAMES HUNT’s life is about to begin..

In the background, the two JAPANESE DRIVERS are giving interviews again. They didn’t just survive, MASAHIRO HASEMI got the fastest lap of the race, and NORITAKE TAKAHARA came 9th...

And at that moment, magically, the sun breaks through, and the snowy peak of Mount Fuji is finally revealed.

203A QUICKFIRE MONTAGE 203

Of newspaper headlines, television talk shows, lucrative endorsements, TV commercials, sponsorship, public billboards.

JAMES’s world championship victory has made him a rich man. His movie star looks make him an international STAR and marketing man’s dream.

Girls, more girls, and even more girls.

203CONTINUED: 203

JAMES, dashing in a white suit, plays trumpet on the UK’s most famous talk show...

FADE TO BLACK:

204EXT. RUNWAY - DAY 204

We’re on the runway of an airport in Northern Italy.

CAPTION: “THREE MONTHS LATER”

A stretch limousine pulls up on the tarmac.

A still-drunk JAMES HUNT and several good-looking WOMEN, rowdy FRIENDS (and hangers-on) spill out of the limo...

They cross the tarmac towards their waiting private jet, passing other jets, when JAMES stops.

He’s seen something that has caught his eye.

JAMES sends his FRIENDS on ahead to their waiting jet, and walks over to a small private jet, (a Learjet 35)...

A hunched PILOT doing final checks. The figure turns. It’s NIKI. His wounds have healed a little, but it’s still a painful sight...

204CONTINUED: 204

JAMES indicates his rowdy, cool-looking friends..

JAMES can’t help smiling. That’s NIKI.

204CONTINUED: (2) 204

The plane load of JAMES’s friends call out...”C’mon, James!”

204CONTINUED: (3) 204

NIKI stares. A blank look..

JAMES goes. NIKI watches him, pulled into his plane by his laughing, cool FRIENDS. An unmistakable flicker of envy in his eyes.

Then NIKI turns, alone, and resumes his safety checks.

205EXT. RUNWAY - AIRFIELD - DAY 205

JAMES’s plane roars down the runway and takes off into the azure blue sky...

FADE TO BLACK:

CAPTION: “JAMES RETURNED THE FOLLOWING SEASON, BUT WAS NEVER A CHALLENGER AGAIN. HE RETIRED IN 1979. AFTER SHORT CAREERS IN BROADCASTING AND BUDGIE BREEDING HE DIED OF A HEART ATTACK. AGED 45.”

CAPTION: “NIKI LAUDA WENT ON TO BECOME WORLD CHAMPION IN 1977. AND AGAIN IN 1984. HE NOW RUNS A SUCCESSFUL COMMERCIAL AIRLINE. HE STILL CLAIMS TO HAVE NO FRIENDS.”

The End