Formula One news

Brundle celebrates 50th birthday

Monday 1st June 2009 marks the fiftieth birthday of Martin Brundle. The former driver, now television commentator for the BBC, first competed in Formula One at the age of twenty-four for Tyrrell before retiring from full-time racing at the end of the 1996 season.

Having very nearly beaten Ayrton Senna to the 1983 British Formula Three championship, Brundle moved into F1 the following year before making an ultimately unsuccessful move to Zakspeed in 1987. The Norfolk star drove on a one-off for Williams in the 1988 Belgian Grand Prix, racing to seventh position, although some of his greatest achievements came in the world of sports car racing.

Driving the famous Silk Cut liveried Jaguars, Brundle helped clinch the prestigious Le Mans 24-hour win in both 1988 and 1990, before enjoying his best F1 season with five podium finishes and a final placing of sixth overall as team-mate to Michael Schumacher at Benetton in 1992.

Brundle with on-screen colleague David Coulthard at the Spanish Grand Prix

Moves to Ligier and McLaren followed, partnering the likes of Mark Blundell and Mika Häkkinen along the way, although is it perhaps for Martin's more recent abilities in the commentary box for which he is best known. Joining ITV in 1997, Brundle's relationship with Murray Walker proved immensely popular with viewers, with Martin's 'gridwalk' still remaining a regular feature. In 2000 he commentated with James Allen for the first time, before being joined by Jonathan Legard as Britain's Formula One coverage moved to the BBC for 2009. Back on the race track, son Alex scored a top eight result in the first race of the new Formula Two championship on Saturday.

GPUpdate.net wishes Martin a happy birthday as the Formula One circus prepares to head to Turkey for Round 7 of 2009.

more news

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• 05 Nov.
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• 04 Nov.
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  • Bridgestone to leave F1 after 2010
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