Martin Brundle | |
---|---|
Born | Martin John Brundle 1 June 1959 King's Lynn, Norfolk, England |
Spouse |
Elizabeth (m. 1984) |
Children | 2, including Alex |
Relatives | Robin Brundle (brother) |
Formula One World Championship career | |
Nationality | British |
Active years | 1984–1989, 1991–1996 |
Teams | Tyrrell, Zakspeed, Williams, Brabham, Benetton, Ligier, McLaren, Jordan |
Engines | Ford, Renault, Zakspeed, Judd, Yamaha, Peugeot, Mugen-Honda |
Entries | 165 (158 starts) |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 9 |
Career points | 98 |
Pole positions | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
First entry | 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1996 Japanese Grand Prix |
World Sportscar Championship career | |
Years active | 1985–1988, 1990–1991 |
Teams | Jaguar |
Starts | 29 |
Championships | 1 (1988) |
Wins | 8 |
Podiums | 16 |
Poles | 3 |
Fastest laps | 2 |
24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
Years | 1987–1988, 1990, 1997–1999, 2001, 2012 |
Teams | Jaguar, Nissan, Toyota, Bentley, Greaves |
Best finish | 1st (1990) |
Class wins | 1 (1990) |
Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from 1984 to 1996. In endurance racing, Brundle won the World Sportscar Championship in 1988 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1990, both with Jaguar; he also won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1988 with Jaguar. Since retiring from racing, Brundle has been a commentator for ITV, the BBC and Sky.
Born and raised in King's Lynn, Norfolk, Brundle began competed in grass track racing aged 12 in a self-built Ford Anglia, before moving into Hot Rod racing. After several seasons in the British Saloon Car Championship, Brundle progressed to Formula Three in 1982. He finished runner-up to Ayrton Senna the following season amidst a close title battle separated by nine points. Both drivers progressed to Formula One in 1984, with Brundle joining Tyrrell and making his debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where he finished fifth. He took his maiden podium at the Detroit Grand Prix, but would later be disqualified from the season's results after the discovery of a technical infringement on the Tyrrell 012. Despite another non-classified championship finish in 1985, Brundle retained his seat at Tyrrell and scored his first credited points with another fifth place at the 1986 Brazilian Grand Prix. Brundle signed for Zakspeed in 1987, but left after one season to join Jaguar in sportscar racing, whom he had already won several races for in the European Touring Car Championship. Brundle won the World Sportscar Championship in record-breaking fashion that season, as well as the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Brundle returned to Formula One in 1989 with Brabham, having already stood in for Nigel Mansell at Williams for the 1988 Belgian Grand Prix. He split his two seasons at Brabham with another season at Jaguar, this time winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving the Jaguar XJR-12. Brundle joined Benetton in 1992 to partner Michael Schumacher, achieving five podium finishes and finishing a career-best sixth in the World Drivers' Championship. He scored a further podium with Ligier at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1993, before moving to McLaren for 1994. Brundle finished seventh in the championship for the second successive season with McLaren, with a season-best second place at the Monaco Grand Prix. He returned to Ligier in 1995, competing at most Grands Prix and achieving another podium in Belgium. Brundle retired from Formula One at the end of his 1996 season with Jordan, having achieved nine podiums across 12 seasons.
Upon retiring from motor racing, Brundle moved into commentary, working as an analyst on Formula One coverage for ITV Sport (1997–2008), BBC Sport (2009–2011) and Sky Sports F1 (2012–present), the latter of which was the official global broadcast until 2022. In rallying, he competed in the Rally of Great Britain in 1999. His son Alex is also a racing driver, who won the 2016 European Le Mans Series in the LMP3 class.