(born
June 1 ,
1959 ) is an
English Motor Racing and former
Formula One driver known chiefly as the man who ran
Ayrton Senna close in British
Formula Three and as
ITV Sport F1 commentator.
Brundle was born at
King's Lynn ,
Norfolk, England . A very intelligent and fast racing driver, Brundle never really got the breaks at the top level of single seaters, but when offered opportunities in other disciplines, he took them. He was the 1988
Worlds Sportscar Champion, with a record points haul, and won the 1990
Le Mans 24 Hour Race for
Jaguar in a
XJR-9 .
His Formula One career began with
Tyrrell in 1984. He put in a number of aggressive and fast drives, finishing fifth in his first race and then a fast second at
Detroit . But then double disaster struck. At the
Dallas Grand Prix, Brundle broke his ankles in a crash during a practice session. Then Tyrrell were disqualified from the world championship for
1984 due to a technical infringement. For the next two seasons he remained with Tyrrell, but without a works engine supply the team would struggle against the sport's giants. In 1987 he switched to
Zakspeed , but managed only two points, the car unable to compete with the frontrunners.
Four years of racing for underfunded teams saw him seek a new challenge. In 1988 he won his world sports car title, but also guested for
Williams at the Belgian Grand Prix. In 1989 he returned to F1 full-time with the returning
Brabham squad, but the former champions were unable to recapture their early 1980s success and Brundle opted to move back into the sports car arena for 1990. The
Le Mans victory came that year and rejuvenated his career, but still a top-line race seat in formula one eluded him. In 1991 he rejoined Brabham, but the squad had fallen even further down the grid and results were sparse.
Despite failing to grab headlines in 1991, Brundle finally got his big break for 1992, with a switch to
Benetton , a team very much on-the-up.
Through years of inferior equipment and sabbaticals from F1, it was eight years before Brundle would legitimately claim a podium finish, although the top step eluded him. In 1992 he enjoyed by far his best season, with a very strong finish to the year. The closest he came to a win was in
Canada , where in a race of attrition, Brundle looked to be favourite to inherit the lead before he himself broke down. He never managed to outqualify his illustrious team-mate
Michael Schumacher , but in the second half of the year was regularly able to outrace the young German. At
Spa , Brundle overtook the future champion. Schumacher noticed blisters on his team-mates' tyres and came in for slicks, a move that won him the race. Had Brundle not overtaken him, perhaps he may have pitted that crucial lap earlier, a victory the possible result.
Despite an excellent 1992, Brundle found himself dropped from Benetton for 1993, Italian
Riccardo Patrese taking his place. Brundle came close to a dream deal with world champions Williams, but in the end
Damon Hill won the drive instead. Still keen to stay in F1, Brundle found himself racing for
Ligier in 1993. Another podium was achieved in a good season for the Brit.
Going into 1994 he had no contract, but was very much in the frame for the vacant
McLaren seat alongside
Mika Hakkinen . McLaren were hopeful of re-signing their former driver
Alain Prost , at that time the reigning world champion. Prost, who had retired after winning his fourth title, decided not to return and so Brundle got the drive. It was a case of bad timing in many ways. McLaren were on the cusp of a downturn and throughout 1994 were unable to win. The team's
Peugeot engines were somewhat unreliable as was to be expected from a debuting engine supplier. At
Silverstone Brundle's motor was thought to explode right at the starting grid. In reality the culprit was a faulty clutch that cracked spilling its lubricants on top of hot engine causing a spectacular fire. Nevertheless, Brundle put in some strong performances that season, most noticeably at
Monaco where he finished second only to Schumacher.
Having had poor luck and with
Nigel Mansell signed to McLaren for 1995, Brundle once more raced for Ligier that year, although not for the full season. To appease
Mugen-Honda he had to share the second seat with
Aguri Suzuki , a move denounced by many commentators and fans. He impressed however, a strong fourth at
Magny-Cours and what would be his last F1 podium at Spa, the highlights. In 1996 he teamed up with
Rubens Barrichello at
Jordan and enjoyed a good season, despite a slow start and a spectacular crash at
Melbourne's inaugural GP, with regular points, fourth his best result.
Brundle had hoped to stay in F1 beyond 1996, but could not find a seat, although he went on to star once more at Le Mans. Drives for
Nissan ,
Toyota and
Bentley impressed, but a second victory failed to materialise. Brundle's last Le Mans outing came in 2001, after which he focused on his role with the
BRDC .
Having largely retired from motor racing, Brundle is now highly regarded as a commentator on British television network
ITV , where he is co-commentator alongside
James Allen and occasional presenter for the network's F1 coverage. He draws on his experience to provide depth to his commentary in a similar way to the '
Color Commentator s' on American TV. Brundle is smart, witty and with an exceptionally good command of the English language.
Brundle took the wheel of a
Jaguar F1 car for the Formula One demonstration in
London prior to the
2004 British Grand Prix .
Although he never won a race, he achieved 9 podiums, and scored a total of 98 championship points, with a best championship finish of 6th in 1992. He was especially strong on street circuits and similarly slow-speed courses — Monaco,
Adelaide and the
Hungaroring each produced 4 points finishes for him.
His sports car prowess led to an invite to the 1990
International Race Of Champions , a three-race series in 1990 because of the switch to
Dodge cars, where he won the second round at
Cleveland 's
Burke Lakefront Airport during the
Champcar event, albeit with a shortened field. (One of the 12 drivers had been injured in a crash in another discipline of racing the previous day, and was unable to participate. That driver was not replaced.)
(Note: grands prix in denote '''points scoring''' races.)
