Car racing movies have always enticed audiences from different parts of the world. Since the advent of motor sport racing, a numerous films based on the same have been made by renowned directors. Recently the tally of such films got a new addition as Rush was released across worldwide theatres. The film was based on the rivalry that was shared between James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula One season. The film stars Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and Daniel Bruhl as Lauda. Directed by Ron Howard, the plot of Rush revolves around James Hunt and Niki Lauda who are two skilled drivers that develop a fierce competition among themselves. As depicted, the rivalry between both the drivers was fuelled by the 1970 Formula Three race at Crystal Palace Circuit in England where the cars of both the drivers gets entangled and still Hunt manages to win the race.
Portrayed by Chris Hemsworth, Hunt is shown as a brash young British citizen whereas Lauda is depicted as a cool and calm man that eventually is tactical genius. In the film, Lauda's relationship with his father deteriorates when he takes up a loan to buy into the BRM Formula One team where he meets Clay Regazzoni who later on becomes his team mate. Soon after, Lauda joins Scuderia Ferrari with Regazzoni and later on wins the first championship in 1975. While Hunt initially joins Hesketh Racing, he later on gets a position in McLaren.
At the end, all the things boil down to last race of the 1976 season with Hunt trailing Lauda by three points. In the film, the gruelling rivalry comes to an end when Lauda returns to the pit by the end of second lap. On the other hand, Hunt finishes on the third sport, which enables him to win the world championship by one point over Lauda. After his retirement, Lauda is shown to take interest in flying private planes. While Hunt continues to race until his retirement in 1979, he later on becomes a motorsport broadcast commentator.
Based on this, BBC also aired the documentary that was made on the rivalry shared between both of these drivers. In that series, BBC interviewed Niki Lauda and the former crew members of the McLaren and Scuderia Ferrari. The film showcased how far both the drivers were instigated by the competition that existed between them. Rush is based on real life incidents of both the drivers that once competed with each other in 1976 Formula One Championship.
