Maindenhead's Alastair Caldwell was back at Silverstone at the weekend to mark the 40th anniversary of when he guided his McLaren racer James Hunt to the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship.

Caldwell was McLaren’s team manager in 1976 when Hunt unforgettably beat Niki Lauda to the F1 Drivers’ World Championship – a battle which was turned into the film Rush in the 2013.

Hunt subsequently died of a heart attack in 1993 at the age of just 45 but his remarkable achievement was recognised at the world’s biggest classic motor racing festival, the Silverstone Classic, at the weekend.

Among those joining Hunt’s racing driver son Freddie at the home of British motorsport was Maidenhead resident Caldwell.

The 73-year-old said: “It was a fantastic season and it was like something out of a movie – well they made a movie about it and exaggerated it, even though they didn’t need to because the season was so fraught and so exciting that they didn’t need to embellish it!

“I was team manager and in those days the team was tiny compared to now, with only around 11 people travelling with the team and I was responsible for just about everything – building the cars, hiring the people, checking the reliability of the cars and made about 99 per cent of the decisions about everything [which related to the cars].

“So I had a fantastically intense job but it was a brilliant job and I loved every minute of it.

“The people have been really interested in what happened and there were some that remembered the days and then young people who have heard about it and wanted to talk about it.

“To have Freddie here is great and the uncanny resemblance to his father is bordering on farcical – he looks just like him!”

The Silverstone Classic sees more than 100,000 motorsport enthusiasts descend on the iconic track over the weekend.

The 10,000-plus vehicles on show include some of the most sought-after and instantly recognisable cars in the history of motorsport, while there are also free fairground rides and other attractions on offer to thrill the whole family.

Caldwell added: “Silverstone Classic is fantastic and there is so much to see: it is beyond comprehension and you can’t fit it all in, even in three days!

“The racing is great and there is so much to see and do.

“Silverstone has always been a great race track and was always really fast.

“We won several races here, including in 1974 to win the World Championship.”

Silverstone Classic is the world’s biggest classic motor racing festival and provides flat out family fun. The weekend event features over 1,000 race entries and 10,000 classic cars on display, drawing in 100,000 classic motorsport enthusiasts and their families. Visit www.facebook.com/silverstoneclassic or @SilverClassic for more information.