Martin Brundle

British motor racing driver and former Formula One star Martin Brundle is best known for his close rivalry with Ayrton Senna in British Formula Three and his role as an F1 commentator for Sky Sports. Born in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, Brundle was an intelligent and fast driver who never quite found consistent success in the top levels of single-seaters. However, he excelled in other racing disciplines. Brundle was the 1988 World Sports Car Champion, setting a record points haul, and won the 1990 Le Mans 24 Hour Race for Jaguar.

Nationality	British
Born	Martin John Brundle 1 June 1959 King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England

Brundle’s Formula One career began with Tyrrell in 1984. He impressed with aggressive and fast drives, finishing second in Detroit. However, his season took a downturn with a crash in Dallas, breaking his ankles, followed by Tyrrell’s disqualification from the championship due to a technical infringement. Brundle stayed with Tyrrell for two more seasons, but the team struggled without a works engine supply. In 1987, he moved to Zakspeed but only scored two points due to the car’s lack of competitiveness.

After four years with underfunded teams, Brundle sought new opportunities, winning the world sports car title in 1988 and guest driving for Williams at the 1988 Belgian Grand Prix. He returned to F1 full-time in 1989 with Brabham, but the team couldn’t reclaim their former glory, prompting Brundle to return to sports cars in 1990. His Le Mans victory that year rejuvenated his career, but a top-tier F1 seat still eluded him.

In 1991, Brundle rejoined Brabham, but the team had declined further, yielding sparse results. His big break came in 1992 with Benetton, a rising team. Despite never outqualifying his teammate Michael Schumacher, Brundle often out-raced him in the second half of the season. His best chance for a win came in Canada, but his car failed. He finished the season with several strong performances.

Despite a successful 1992, Brundle was dropped from Benetton for 1993 in favour of Riccardo Patrese. He nearly secured a deal with Williams but ultimately lost out to Damon Hill. Brundle then raced for Ligier in 1993, achieving another podium. In 1994, he joined McLaren alongside Mika Hakkinen after Alain Prost declined to return. Unreliable Peugeot engines marred the season, but Brundle managed a notable second-place finish at the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix.

In 1995, Brundle returned to Ligier, sharing the second seat with Aguri Suzuki, and achieved a strong fourth place at Magny-Cours and his final podium at Spa. He joined Jordan in 1996, racing alongside Rubens Barrichello, and enjoyed a solid season with regular points finishes, his best result being fourth.

Unable to secure an F1 seat beyond 1996, Brundle continued to compete in sports cars, driving for Nissan, Toyota, and Bentley, though a second Le Mans victory eluded him. His final Le Mans appearance came in 2001, after which he focused on his role with the BRDC and became a highly regarded F1 commentator for ITV and later with Sky Sports F1.

Although he never won an F1 race, he achieved nine podiums and scored 98 championship points, with a best championship finish of sixth in 1992. Known for his strength on street circuits and slower tracks like Monaco, Adelaide, and the Hungaroring, Brundle’s talent was undeniable, even if circumstances often worked against him. His sports car successes, however, firmly established his racing credentials.

Martin Brundle Formula One World Championship career

F1 Career	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

Martin Brundle Teammates

13 drivers	Involvement	First Year	Last Year
Stefan Bellof	20	1984	1985
Stefan Johansson	1	1985
Ivan Capelli	2	1985
Philippe Streiff	17	1985	1986
Christian Danner	16	1987
Riccardo Patrese	1	1988
Stefano Modena	16	1989
Mark Blundell	32	1991	1993
Michael Schumacher	16	1992
Mika Hakkinen	15	1994
Philippe Alliot	1	1994
Olivier Panis	11	1995
Rubens Barrichello	16	1996

Complete Formula One Results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Pts
1984	Tyrrell Racing Organisation	Tyrrell 012	Ford Cosworth DFY 3.0 V8	BRA DSQ	RSA DSQ	BEL DSQ	SMR DSQ	FRA DSQ	MON DNQ	CAN DSQ	DET DSQ	DAL DNQ	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	EUR	POR		NC 1	0
1985	Tyrrell Racing Organisation	Tyrrell 012	Ford Cosworth DFY 3.0 V8	BRA 8	POR Ret	SMR 9	MON 10	CAN 12	DET Ret			GER 10	AUT DNQ								NC	0
		Tyrrell 014	Renault EF4B 1.5 V6 t							FRA Ret	GBR 7			NED 7	ITA 8	BEL 13	EUR Ret	RSA 7	AUS NC
1986	Data General Team Tyrrell	Tyrrell 014	Renault EF4B 1.5 V6 t	BRA 5	ESP Ret	SMR 8															11th	8
		Tyrrell 015	Renault EF4B 1.5 V6 t				MON Ret	BEL Ret	CAN 9	DET Ret	FRA 10	GBR 5	GER Ret	HUN 6	AUT Ret	ITA 10	POR Ret	MEX 11	AUS 4
1987	West Zakspeed Racing	Zakspeed 861	Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4 t	BRA Ret				DET Ret													18th	2
		Zakspeed 871	Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4 t		SMR 5	BEL Ret	MON 7		FRA Ret	GBR NC	GER NC	HUN Ret	AUT DSQ	ITA Ret	POR Ret	ESP 11	MEX Ret	JPN Ret	AUS Ret
1988	Canon Williams Team	Williams FW12	Judd CV 3.5 V8	BRA	SMR	MON	MEX	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL 7	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS		NC	0
1989	Motor Racing Developments	Brabham BT58	Judd EV 3.5 V8	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	MON 6	MEX 9	USA Ret	CAN DNPQ	FRA DNPQ	GBR Ret	GER 8	HUN 12	BEL Ret	ITA 6	POR 8	ESP Ret	JPN 5	AUS Ret		20th	4
1991	Motor Racing Developments Ltd	Brabham BT59Y	Yamaha OX99 3.5 V12	USA 11	BRA 12																15th	2
		Brabham BT60Y	Yamaha OX99 3.5 V12			SMR 11	MON EX	CAN Ret	MEX Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 11	HUN Ret	BEL 9	ITA 13	POR 12	ESP 10	JPN 5	AUS DNQ
1992	Camel Benetton Ford	Benetton B191B	Ford HBA5 3.5 V8	RSA Ret	MEX Ret	BRA Ret															6th	38
		Benetton B192	Ford HBA7 3.5 V8				ESP Ret	SMR 4	MON 5	CAN Ret	FRA 3	GBR 3	GER 4	HUN 5	BEL 4	ITA 2	POR 4	JPN 3	AUS 3
1993	Ligier Gitanes Blondes	Ligier JS39	Renault RS5 3.5 V10	RSA Ret	BRA Ret	EUR Ret	SMR 3	ESP Ret	MON 6	CAN 5	FRA 5	GBR 14 †	GER 8	HUN 5	BEL 7	ITA Ret	POR 6	JPN 9 †	AUS 6		7th	13
1994	Marlboro McLaren Peugeot	McLaren MP4/9	Peugeot A6 3.5 V10	BRA Ret	PAC Ret	SMR 8	MON 2	ESP 11 †	CAN Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN 4 †	BEL Ret	ITA 5	POR 6	EUR Ret	JPN Ret	AUS 3		7th	16
1995	Ligier Gitanes Blondes	Ligier JS41	Mugen-Honda MF-301 3.0 V10	BRA	ARG	SMR	ESP 9	MON Ret	CAN 10 †	FRA 4	GBR Ret	GER	HUN Ret	BEL 3	ITA Ret	POR 8	EUR 7	PAC	JPN	AUS Ret	13th	7
1996	B&H Total Jordan Peugeot	Jordan 196	Peugeot A12 EV5 3.0 V10	AUS Ret	BRA 12 †																11th	8
	Total Jordan Peugeot	Jordan 196	Peugeot A12 EV5 3.0 V10			ARG Ret	EUR 6	SMR Ret	MON Ret	ESP Ret	CAN 6	FRA 8	GBR 6	GER 10	HUN Ret	BEL Ret	ITA 4	POR 9	JPN 5

Sources: Historicracing.com and Wikipedia.com