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Once you get in it,

it's even more difficult

to get out of it.

In 1974,

emerson fittipaldi

began to fill the void

left by Jackie Stewart,

both as the fastest man

and the voice of reason.

While steel armco

now ringed most circuits,

two more drivers

had been killed

after collisions

with the barriers:

The American Peter revson,

and a young Austrian driver

in only his second start,

helmuth koinigg.

Max mosley:
The Marshall

appeared with his helmet.

His head was still in it

because he'd gone

under the barrier and it

just took his head off.

Emerson fittipaldi:

It was like it was a nightmare.

Emerson fittipaldi:

I remember Barcelona.

Friday morning,

after practice,

I saw the armco barriers

held with just bolts,

no nuts, and wire.

And I touch one.

I kick, and fall.

Fittipaldi,

now with mclaren,

refused to even practice.

The organizers

of the Spanish grand prix

threatened to impound

all the cars in the grid

if the defending champion

did not drive.

Max mosley:
I thought,

this is a world sport.

I cannot believe that

a world sport is run like this.

Max mosley:

So the drivers had a meeting

in the texaco motor home.

Emerson fittipaldi:

We had to fight with the organizers--

I mean really fight.

Nigel roebuck:
The track

was sort of in the hills above Barcelona,

and Friday afternoon,

there was silence.

( Birds chirping )

( Distant race engine revs )

Then there was just one car,

just one engine.

( Engine roars )

Nigel roebuck:
Somebody said,

"it's gotta be ickx."

While Jackie Stewart

had stepped aside,

the other jacky

was still on the title hunt.

Baby face ickx had taken

fittipaldi's place at lotus.

Jacky ickx:

With the racing, frankly,

you have to

be individualistic,

in a way,

and also selfish.

Max mosley:

The pavlovian reaction

to the sound

that they could hear,

that was it.

Then they all got in there and drove.

( Engine roaring )

Nigel roebuck:
It was

a very, very tense atmosphere,

extraordinarily

tense atmosphere.

The actual team mechanics

were bolting these barriers together.

On race day, fittipaldi

held true to his word.

Emerson fittipaldi:

I did one lap and come in,

as defending world champion.

I went back to Geneva,

and when I landed,

Swiss TV waiting for me.

I didn't know what happened

in the grand prix.

The rear wing of Rolf stommelen's

embassy-hill-Lola

broke off, sending the car

into the barriers.

Nigel roebuck:
We're about

25 laps into the race,

and I can remember saying

to the guys with me,

"Jesus, that's Rolf.

He's in the crowd."

Stommelen survived,

but four people were killed.

( Emerson fittipaldi

speaking French )

Max mosley:
Once drivers start

worrying seriously about safety,

you know that their

fastest days are over.

If you took all

the formula one drivers,

even the current crop

of racing drivers,

and said, "here are two cars.

That one is very safe.

That one's extremely dangerous.

If you crash in it,

you'll probably get killed...

But the dangerous one's

two seconds a lap quicker."

There would be no discussion

about which one they'd drive.

They'd all get in

the dangerous one.

That's why it's

the people running the sport

have to take responsibility.

Just weeks after

the failed strike in Spain,

the most unlikely rivalry

would spark

along the Dutch coast

at zanvoort.

A battle between two drivers

would help turn the tide

in the revolution.

Lord hesketh:

Practice Friday, fantastic.

Saturday, blue sky.

Wake up Sunday morning,

and suddenly

it's pissing rain.

Absolute pouring rain.

Lord hesketh:
Everyone else

had their spanners out,

wings are going up.

I look at the car, I say,

"look, we know

"absolutely f***-all

about how you set a car up,

so we'd better leave it

just the way it is."

( Engines roar )

Lord hesketh:

James does four laps,

and he's in front

of both ferraris.

Koen vergeer:

When James hunt approached,

all the crowds

went to the fence.

"Yeah, there he is again!

There he is again!"

Lord hesketh:
You'd suddenly

see white car, red car...

Koen vergeer:

...Niki lauda in the Ferrari...

...getting closer,

getting closer.

"Oh, yes! Keep him

behind, keep him behind!"

Lord hesketh:

And then we won.

James hunt held off

Niki lauda

in his powerful Ferrari,

and gave team hesketh

their first win

after three years of trying.

That's just brilliant.

You know, the David

and goliath-- fantastic story.

The playboy garagistes

had prevailed

over the most storied

team in formula one.

Lord hesketh:
Party basically started

in the back of the truck.

It's fair to say that eventually

I went into blackout.

It was special, 'cause

the only guy who ever,

ever took me seriously

was the commendatore.

But then he was

the only guy who counted.

Mr. Ferrari was the most decorated man

in motor racing.

He'd famously said,

"aerodynamics were for people

who could not build engines."

But he also hadn't won

a title since 1964...

Until lauda.

Niki lauda:
You know,

in Italy, there are

a lot of emotions

around the racing team.

If you win,

it's quite easy;

if you lose,

it's quite difficult.

John Watson:
Niki was a clever guy.

He was a good operator.

Probably the ideal

Ferrari driver.

Emerson fittipaldi:

Niki's very technical, cool.

James, even being English,

he was very emotional.

He'd come in my motor

home before every race.

"Emerson, can I use

your toilet?"

I'd say,

"James, come on! "

With one epic win

under his belt,

hunt left

the Teddy bear behind

for a chance

at the title.

He signed with the '74 world champion

constructor, mclaren.

Those days,

you got five years,

with the death rate

and everything else.

He had a new future.

Jane birbeck:
The mclaren

outfit was very structured.

Everybody wore uniforms,

but James just

wore whatever he wanted.

While lauda took

the role of champion,

leading the charge for safety

in the drivers' union,

hunt became the new face

of formula one.

I don't know whether

the drivers today

go out and have a party

till 3:
00 in the morning

and jump into the car.

Who else could do that?

I don't think you can get

to that level being,

you know,

just who you want to be.

You have to be,

to a certain extent, what--

what a racing driver's

supposed to be. You know, quick.

Hunt took pole position

in qualifying

for the first two races

in 1976...

...while lauda

took the checkered flags.

I think they

respected each other,

but there was a need.

Niki really wanted

to be a cool guy,

and he wasn't

quite a cool guy,

and he used to wind James up

whenever he had the opportunity.

Man:
What about this fellow

James hunt this weekend?

Well, James hunt won

his grand prix in Holland,

so I think he's a very,

very strong competitor now.

( Indistinct remark )

Niki would psych

the other drivers out

just by talking to them.

I mean...

Hunt's first win

came in Spain,

but it was taken down

when the wing

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