David Hunt, a former racer himself and the brother of 1976 F1 World Champion James, unexpectedly passed away in his sleep Sunday night.
Hunt, who was 12 years younger than his renowned sibling, embarked on a racing career of his own in the early 1980s, with solid if unspectacular runs in Formula Ford and Formula 3 before moving up to F3000 in 1988, but achieving only modest results.
Success in motor racing had bypassed the younger Hunt who decided to hang up his helmet and focus on his business ventures which at one point included a planned resurrection of the Lotus name in Formula 1 after he acquired the rights to the legendary name in 1994.
Hunt's endeavours to bring Lotus back to the helm failed in various guises. He then sold the naming rights to a Malaysian government backed entity headed by Caterham F1 owner Tony Fernandes, but the agreement eventually ended in dispute.
A long and complex court battle, from which Fernandes emerged the winner, settled the parties claims.
“I love your sense of humour!” - click here for the best quotes of the Russian Grand Prix weekend
F1i's Russian Grand Prix drivers rating
Click here for the F1 drivers' girlfriends gallery
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
