Factual error: Lauda is an Austrian. Yet when his name appears on scoreboards with his country abbreviation, it shows AUS, which is for Australia. AUT is for Austria.
Factual error: In the animation of the valves opening inside the engine, there is a screw thread visible where the spark plug should be. (00:55:00)
Factual error: At Watkins Glen 1973 there is an accident during practice. That is correct, but Cevert's Tyrrell did not go under the guardrail. It landed on top of it after the crash. In 1974 Helmut Koinigg went under the guardrail and was killed, so this seems to be a hybrid of those two accidents. (00:21:40)
Continuity mistake: When Lauda is going out from his pitstop he is blocked by Andretti's Lotus, but after the pitstop he overtakes Andretti on the track.
Factual error: When James Hunt is in the rain, he has raindrops on his visor. At that speed, no drops can stay on anything. And besides that, most water will go over his head. A few drops might hit his helmet.
Factual error: Hunt gets out of a limo to visit Lauda at an airport. It takes place in 1977, but the limo is a Lincoln that was not produced until 1980. (01:47:30)
Continuity mistake: Lauda runs season with car number 1, on his Monza in-lap after the race and on the Fuji grid there is #2 on his car. (01:28:55)
Factual error: The results of the Japanese Grand Prix are incorrect, with Alan Jones omitted from the film version. Jones finished 4th with Regazzoni 5th; the film places Regazzoni in 4th and Laffite in 5th.
Other mistake: The Rolls-Royce at Watkins Glen, and the Mini in England, have the same English license plate.
Answer: It's a case of bad nerves before a race and has developed into a habitual behavioral pattern.
raywest ★