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Martin Brundle is a retired Formula One racing driver who participated in F1 from 1984 until 1996. During his career, Brundle raced for Tyrrell, Zakspeed, Williams, Brabham, Benetton, Ligier, McLaren and the Jordan teams.

Brundle is also a highly respected and well known commentator for British television, in which he worked with ITV-F1 from 1997 until 2008, BBC Sport F1 from 2009 until 2011, and is currently employed by Sky Sports F1 since 2012.

In the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, at the final lap of the race, when Lewis Hamilton is about to pass Timo Glock on the final lap to win the 2008 Drivers' Championship, Brundle said "Is that Glock? Is that Glock going slowly?"

Brundle currently sits at third place of most experienced drivers to never win in F1.

Formula One Career[]

1984-1986: Tyrrell[]

1984[]

After Brundle's tight battle with Ayrton Senna in British Formula 3, in which Brundle had narrowly loss the title in the last race to the Brazilian driver, both Senna and Brundle had gained the attention of the Formula One teams for the 1984 Formula One Season. Both Brundle and Senna as well as another up and coming talent Stefan Bellof were invited by the McLaren team to test their F1 car at the end of the season at the Silverstone Circuit. All three driver's impressed and were offered drives for the following season. Both Brundle and Bellof would join the Tyrrell team, a relatively strong mid-field team whilst Senna would join Toleman, a similarly pased mid-field team.

The Brazilian Grand Prix marked the first race of the season, Brundle qualified in 15th position three places ahead of teammate Bellof. It was not a great start to the season with both Tyrrell's stuck at the back of the grid, however Brundle's fortunes would notably improve during the race. Poor reliability marked the start of the season and saw 18 of the 26 cars retire, including Brundle's teammate Bellof. Brundle however managed to continue until the chequered flag, stealing fifth place on the last lap from Patrick Tambay's Renault which ran out of fuel on the last lap. Brundle was thus able to score some unexpected points on his Formula One debut.

The Tyrrell's appeared to be even less competitive in qualifying at the next round in South African than they had been in Brazil. Brundle started in 25th, the second last position on the grid. Teammate Bellof faired little better and was only one position ahead of Brundle. Whilst most of the field was hampered by poor reliability once again, Brundle was able to continue to the end of the race once again, albeit significantly off the pace finishing in 11th and last place. 

The next race in Belgium saw little improvement for the Tyrrell team. Bellof once again had only just barely pipped Brundle to a higher grid position, starting in 21st with Brundle right behind in 22nd. Brundle had his first Formula One retirement in Spa, breaking down on lap 51. Teammate Bellof went on to score his first points in F1, finishing 5th in the race, now equalling Brundle in the championship.

The next race in San Marino saw the Tyrrell's line-up 21st and 22nd once again, Bellof beating Brundle once again. The Tyrrell's once again proved uncompetitive, with Brundle retiring with only 5 laps to go, and Bellof finishing in a disgruntled 11th position.

At the French Grand Prix, Brundle qualified in 23rd, three places behind his German teammate. The Tyrrell's still were unable to find any competitive race pace either with Brundle finishing the race three laps off the winner Niki Lauda as teammate Bellof retired from the race.

The Monaco Grand Prix was next in on the calendar. Whilst in qualifying, Brundle had an enormous accident in which he managed to roll the car whilst hitting the barriers at Tabac corner. Brundle exited his Tyrrell only semi-conscious and when he went back to the pits to enter the spare car, Brundle had forgotten what race track he was at. Team Manager Ken Tyrrell pulled Brundle out of the session after asking over the radio whether he should turn left or right upon exiting the garage. Despite later being given the all clear by Dr Sid Watkins, the track race doctor, Brundle did not reenter the session and therefore did not qualify for the race. It was a missed opportunity for Brundle, as teammate Bellof garnered his first podium finishing in third place during the wet conditions.

After teammate Bellof's recent success, Brundle was determined for him not to establish command over the team and outqualified him to 21st place in the Canadian Grand Prix. Brundle's Tyrrell once again proved to be reliable yet without any speed finishing in a distance ninth position, despite being engaged in a tense duel with F3 rival Ayrton Senna and the ATS of Manfred Winkelhock

The Detroit Grand Prix would be a significant moment for Brundle and the Tyrrell team during the 1984 season. In qualifying, it was evident the Tyrrell's were much more competitive, Brundle putting in an excellent performance to qualify 11th, the team's highest grid position so far in the season. Teammate Bellof was only a few places down in 16th. The first start was aborted after an accident at the first corner. Upon the restart, both Tyrrell cars were immediately competitive, getting the jump on all of their nearby rivals. By lap 17 Brundle and Bellof were running a highly competitive 5th and 6th in the race. The two Tyrrell cars continued to lap faster than their rivals. Bellof, however, would ruin his race by crashing into the barriers and retiring. Tyrrell's hopes lay solely in the hands of Brundle. After the retirements of Derek Warwick's Renault and Keke Rosberg's Williams, Brundle found himself in third place. Only the Brabham of Nelson Piquet and the Lotus of Elio de Angelis remained ahead of him. De Angelis began suffering gearbox issues, and on lap 56, Brundle overtook the Lotus driver. Spurred on by his success Brundle began to chase down race leader and Piquet and by the last lap was right on the Brabham driver's tail, yet ran out of time to overtake Piquet for the win. Nonetheless, it was an amazing performance by the young British driver, who nearly won the race in underperforming machinery.

However, only shortly after the podium ceremony, the stewards began investigating the Tyrrell's for a technical infringement. There was found to be impurities in the water injection in the Tyrrell cars, with evidence to suggest these water levels were topped up in a pit-stop and thus being classified as refuelling which had been banned for the 1984 season, the Tyrrell team were disqualified from the championship. Both Brundle and Bellof's amazing results were therefore erased from the scoreboard much to the disappointment of many within F1, not least the Tyrrell team.

Despite the disqualification from the championship, Tyrrell vowed to continue on in the championship despite being aware they would not gain any points for the remainder of the season. The season was about to get even worse for Brundle and Tyrrell as during qualifying for the Dallas Grand Prix, Brundle had another huge accident during qualifying. Brundle slammed into the concrete barrier before bouncing off and slamming into the barrier once again. Brundle broke both his ankles and feet, the severity of his injuries would keep him out for the rest of the season. Despite returning to F1 in 1985, the accident in Dallas continues to plague Brundle with pain to the current day.

Brundle was replaced in the team by Stefan Johansson for the remainder of the season, however the Tyrrell team pulled out of the season early after round 13, feeling it was pointless to continue in a championship they would continue to be disqualified in for the remainder of the season. Despite the lows of 1984, both Brundle and Bellof were recognised and respected in the paddock as stars of the future, pushing the limits of their uncompetitive machinery both of whom were realised as a formidable force within Formula One.

1985[]

Formula One Statistical Overview[]

Formula One Record[]

Year Entrant Team WDC Pts. WDC Pos. Report
1983 United Kingdom TAG Williams Team Williams-Ford Cosworth Test Driver
United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren International McLaren-Ford Cosworth
1984 United Kingdom Tyrrell Racing Organisation Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 0* NC* Report
1985 United Kingdom Tyrrell Racing Organisation Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 0 NC Report
Tyrrell-Renault
1986 United Kingdom Data General Team Tyrrell Tyrrell-Renault 8 11th Report
West Germany West Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed Test Driver
1987 West Germany West Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed 2 18th Report
1988 United Kingdom Canon Williams Team Williams-Judd 0 NC Report
1989 United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham-Judd 4 20th Report
1990: Competing in World Sportscar event
1991 United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham-Yamaha 2 15th Report
1992 United Kingdom Camel Benetton Ford Benetton-Ford Cosworth 38 6th Report
1993 France Ligier Gitanes Blondes Ligier-Renault 13 7th Report
1994 United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren Peugeot McLaren-Peugeot 16 7th Report
1995 France Ligier Gitanes Blondes Ligier-Mugen-Honda 7 13th Report
Ireland Total Jordan Peugeot Jordan-Peugeot Test Driver
1996 Ireland Benson & Hedges Total Jordan Peugeot Jordan-Peugeot 8 11th Report
1997 United Kingdom Danka Arrows Yamaha Arrows-Yamaha Test Driver
Italy Mild Seven Benetton Renault Benetton-Renault
1998: Competing in 24 Hours of Le Mans
1999 Ireland Benson & Hedges Jordan Jordan-Mugen-Honda Test Driver
2000 Ireland Benson & Hedges Jordan Jordan-Mugen-Honda Test Driver
2001–2003: Did not compete
2004 United Kingdom Jaguar Racing Jaguar-Ford Cosworth Test Driver
2005: Did not compete
2006 United Kingdom Red Bull Racing Red Bull-Ferrari Test Driver
2007 United Kingdom AT&T Williams Williams-Toyota Test Driver
Japan Super Aguri F1 Team Super Aguri-Honda
2008 Austria Red Bull Racing Red Bull-Renault Test Driver
2009–2012: Did not compete
2013 Austria Infiniti Red Bull Racing Red Bull-Renault Test Driver
2014: Did not compete
2015 India Sahara Force India F1 Team Force India-Mercedes Test Driver
  • * In 1984, Brundle's team, Tyrrell, were disqualified and banned from entering the remaining races that were left on the calendar, due to a technical infringement discovered at the race in Detroit. Brundle had scored 8 points until that point.

Non-Racing Formula One Career[]

Year Role Employer
1997 Commentator ITV-F1
1998 Commentator ITV-F1
1999 Commentator ITV-F1
2000 Commentator ITV-F1
2001 Commentator ITV-F1
2002 Commentator ITV-F1
2003 Commentator ITV-F1
2004 Commentator ITV-F1
2005 Commentator ITV-F1
2006 Commentator ITV-F1
2007 Commentator ITV-F1
2008 Commentator ITV-F1
2009 Commentator BBC Sport F1
2010 Commentator BBC Sport F1
2011 Commentator BBC Sport F1
2012 Commentator Sky Sports F1
2013 Commentator Sky Sports F1
2014 Commentator Sky Sports F1
2015 Commentator Sky Sports F1
2016 Commentator Sky Sports F1

Career Statistics[]

Entries 165
Starts 158
Pole Positions 0
Race Wins 0
Podiums 9
Fastest Laps 0
Points 98
Laps Raced 7512
Distance Raced 35,093 km (21,806 mi)

Career Results[]

Complete Formula One Results
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pts Pos
1984 Flag of Brazil (1968–1992) Flag of South Africa 1928-1994 Flag of Belgium Flag of San Marino Flag of France Flag of Monaco Flag of Canada Flag of the United States Flag of the United States Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Germany Flag of Austria Flag of the Netherlands Flag of Italy Flag of Europe Flag of Portugal 0 NC
DSQ DSQ DSQ DSQ DSQ DNQ
[1]
DSQ DSQ DNQ
1985 Flag of Brazil (1968–1992) Flag of Portugal Flag of San Marino Flag of Monaco Flag of Canada Flag of the United States Flag of France Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Germany Flag of Austria Flag of the Netherlands Flag of Italy Flag of Belgium Flag of Europe Flag of South Africa 1928-1994 Flag of Australia 0 NC
8th Ret 9th 10th 12th Ret Ret 7th 10th DNQ 7th 8th 13th Ret 7th NC
1986 Flag of Brazil (1968–1992) Flag of Spain Flag of San Marino Flag of Monaco Flag of Belgium Flag of Canada Flag of the United States Flag of France Flag of Great Britain Flag of Germany Flag of Hungary Flag of Austria Flag of Italy Flag of Portugal Flag of Mexico Flag of Australia 8 11th
5th Ret 8th Ret Ret 9th Ret 10th 5th Ret 6th Ret 10th Ret 11th 4th
1987 Flag of Brazil (1968–1992) Flag of San Marino Flag of Belgium Flag of Monaco Flag of the United States Flag of France Flag of Great Britain Flag of Germany Flag of Hungary Flag of Austria Flag of Italy Flag of Portugal Flag of Spain Flag of Mexico Flag of Japan (1870–1999) Flag of Australia 2 18th
Ret 5th Ret 7th Ret Ret NC NC Ret DSQ Ret Ret 11th Ret Ret Ret
1988 Flag of Brazil (1968–1992) Flag of San Marino Flag of Monaco Flag of Mexico Flag of Canada Flag of the United States Flag of France Flag of Great Britain Flag of Germany Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of Italy Flag of Portugal Flag of Spain Flag of Japan (1870–1999) Flag of Australia 0 NC
7th
1989 Flag of Brazil (1968–1992) Flag of San Marino Flag of Monaco Flag of Mexico Flag of the United States Flag of Canada Flag of France Flag of Great Britain Flag of Germany Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of Italy Flag of Portugal Flag of Spain Flag of Japan (1870–1999) Flag of Australia 4 20th
Ret Ret 6th 9th Ret DNPQ DNPQ Ret 8th 12th Ret 6th 8th Ret 5th Ret
1991 Flag of the United States Flag of Brazil (1968–1992) Flag of San Marino Flag of Monaco Flag of Canada Flag of Mexico Flag of France Flag of Great Britain Flag of Germany Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of Italy Flag of Portugal Flag of Spain Flag of Japan (1870–1999) Flag of Australia 2 15th
11th 12th 11th EXC Ret Ret Ret Ret 11th Ret 9th 13th 12th 10th 5th DNQ
[2]
1992 Flag of South Africa 1928-1994 Flag of Mexico Flag of Brazil (1968–1992) Flag of Spain Flag of San Marino Flag of Monaco Flag of Canada Flag of France Flag of Great Britain Flag of Germany Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of Italy Flag of Portugal Flag of Japan (1870–1999) Flag of Australia 38 6th
Ret Ret Ret Ret 4th 5th Ret 3rd 3rd 4th 5th 4th 2nd 4th 3rd 3rd
1993 Flag of South Africa 1928-1994 Flag of Brazil Flag of Europe Flag of San Marino Flag of Spain Flag of Monaco Flag of Canada Flag of France Flag of Great Britain Flag of Germany Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of Italy Flag of Portugal Flag of Japan (1870–1999) Flag of Australia 13 7th
Ret Ret Ret 3rd Ret 6th 5th 5th 14th 8th 5th 7th Ret 6th 9th 6th
1994 Flag of Brazil Flag of the Pacific Community Flag of San Marino Flag of Monaco Flag of Spain Flag of Canada Flag of France Flag of Great Britain Flag of Germany Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of Italy Flag of Portugal Flag of Europe Flag of Japan Flag of Australia 16 7th
Ret Ret 8th 2nd 11th Ret Ret Ret Ret 4th Ret 5th 6th Ret Ret 3rd
1995 Flag of Brazil Flag of Argentina Flag of San Marino Flag of Spain Flag of Monaco Flag of Canada Flag of France Flag of Great Britain Flag of Germany Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of Italy Flag of Portugal Flag of Europe Flag of the Pacific Community Flag of Japan (1870–1999) Flag of Australia 7 13th
9th Ret 10th 4th Ret Ret 3rd Ret 8th 7th Ret
1996 Flag of Australia Flag of Brazil Flag of Argentina Flag of Europe Flag of San Marino Flag of Monaco Flag of Spain Flag of Canada Flag of France Flag of Great Britain Flag of Germany Flag of Hungary Flag of Belgium Flag of Italy Flag of Portugal Flag of Japan (1870–1999) 8 11th
Ret 12th Ret 6th Ret Ret Ret 6th 8th 6th 10th Ret Ret 4th 9th 5th
Key
Symbol Meaning Symbol Meaning
1st Winner Ret Retired
2nd Podium finish DSQ Disqualified
3rd DNQ Did not qualify
5th Points finish DNPQ Did not pre-qualify
14th Non-points finish TD Test driver
Italics Fastest Lap DNS Did not start
18th Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) NC Non-classified finish (<90% race distance)
4thP Qualified for pole position [+] More Symbols
  1. Race stopped after 31/76 Laps. Half points awarded
  2. Race stopped after 14/81 Laps. Half points awarded

Notes[]


V T E Grand Prix Drivers' Association
Chairman
Moss • Bonnier • Stewart • Scheckter • Pironi • Senna • M. Schumacher • Coulthard • R. Schumacher • De la Rosa • Heidfeld • Barrichello • Wurz
Directors
M. Schumacher • Berger • Brundle • D. Hill • Coulthard • Wurz • Trulli • Webber • R. Schumacher • Alonso • De la Rosa • Heidfeld • Massa • Vettel • Barrichello • Button • Grosjean
Affected races
1969 Belgian Grand Prix • 1970 German Grand Prix • 1982 South African Grand Prix • 1994 San Marino Grand Prix
Related
Professional Racing Drivers Assocation
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