Martin Brundle

Interesting facts

He started racing at age 12 in a self-built Ford Anglia, and became the youngest-ever competitor in the British Saloon Car Championship in 1977. In 1983 he fought a close British Formula Three title battle with a young Ayrton Senna, losing out only in the final laps of the season's last race. He crashed in practice for the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix, breaking both ankles and feet; doctors initially considered amputating his left foot, and though he recovered, he could never run or brake properly with his left foot again. In 1990 he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Jaguar XJR-12, reinvigorating a career that had struggled to take off. In 1992, partnering Michael Schumacher at Benetton, he took five podiums and finished a career-best sixth in the championship. He has worked as a television commentator since 1997, starting his trademark pre-race grid walks that year - in 2016, while covering the Monaco Grand Prix live, he suffered a heart attack on air while running to conduct podium interviews. Martin Brundle raced in Formula 1 from 1984 to 1996, across 12 seasons as a British driver. He scored a total of 98 championship points over his career.