He had the daunting prospect of taking on the role of legendary Formula 1 champion James Hunt in new movie Rush.

But it seems Chris Hemsworth had no trouble at all getting into character as the racing driver, judging by the first official pictures from the movie.

In the shots, Hemsworth is seen as Hunt gears up for a race against his arch rival, three-time F1 champion Niki Lauda, who returned to the racing track six weeks after a near-death experience in his Ferrari in 1976.

Getting into character: Chris Hemsworth stars as Formula 1 champion James Hunt in upcoming movie Rush

Another picture from the movie shows a car, believed to be Hunt’s, looking like a blur of colour as it speeds over the finish line.

Hemsworth is also seen surrounded by female fans ahead of a race, showing he was the ideal choice to take on the character of Hunt, with his long blonde hair and muscular physique.

Rush follows the tale of Lauda’s rivalry with Hunt when he made his racing comeback to battle Hunt for the F1 championship.

Hunt, who died from a heart attack at the age of 45 in 1993, was one of the leading Formula One drivers of the 1970s, taking the world F1 title from Lauda in 1976.

Gearing up for the big race: Rush tells the story of Hunt’s rivalry with three-time F1 champion Niki Lauda

Blink and you’ll miss him! It seems Hemsworth had no difficult with the stunt-driving aspects of the movie

Known as ‘hunt the shunt’, he won the hearts of the British public with his devil-may care attitude and was said to have bedded up to 5,000 women during his lifetime.

Oscar-winning director Ron Howard said of the movie: ‘Lauda and Hunt were rock stars of the race track: two absolute pros at the top of their game, in a time when sex was safe, driving was dangerous and all bets were off.

‘They were also complicated, fascinating men and born rivals. Rush will be as much about that personal rivalry as it will be about the thrill of the race.’

Spot the difference: It’s not hard to see why Hemsworth was chosen to take on the role of Hunt

As he was: Hunt being interviewed in the Hesketh Racing TV Documentary in 1974

And the official synopsis of the movie reads: ‘Following their personal lives on and off the track, Rush follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error. If you make one mistake, you die.’

Rush also stars Olivia Wilde and Natalie Dormer, alongside Daniel Brühl as Lauda.

Rush is due for release in September 2013.