Martin Brundle reveals ‘ultimate nightmare’ Sky F1 commentator fears at every Grand Prix

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Martin Brundle has been one of the voices of Formula 1 in Great Britain since 1997, but the Sky Sports F1 commentator dreads one ‘nightmare’ unfolding at every Grand Prix.

ITV Sport was the first broadcaster to hand Brundle a microphone when his racing career hit the end of the road. He shared the commentary booth with the iconic Murray Walker before working with James Allen, and also Jonathan Legard after moving over to the BBC in 2009.

Only Brundle and Ted Kravitz made the move from ITV to the BBC in 2009, and they even led the exodus when Sky Sports secured the rights for Formula 1 in Britain for 2012 onwards. He has since shared Sky’s commentary booth with David Croft for nearly every Grand Prix since.

Martin Brundle fears being caught by surprise live on air as an F1 commentator

ITV sought to see how Brundle would fare as a commentator to draw on his experiences on the grid from 165 Grand Prix entries plus 158 starts. The Briton had raced in the pinnacle of motorsport from 1981 to 1996 for teams including Williams, Brabham, McLaren and Jordan.

Working for ITV on its coverage of Formula 1 races even saw Brundle give birth to his iconic grid walks. The racer-turned-pundit pottering about the grid ahead of each race he works is a staple of the weekend as Brundle speaks to drivers and team bosses also some celebrities.

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Brundle would prove to be a superb addition to ITV, BBC and Sky Sports’ teams as an award-winning commentator through his ability to break the complexity of F1 down for viewers to understand. Yet even after 25 years of calling races live on-air, Brundle still has one big fear.

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Brundle has revealed that he still fears being caught by surprise live on air by a driver finishing on the podium out of nowhere. He admits that it would be a ‘worst case scenario’ as a commentator to miss such a huge storyline in a race.

Brundle said: “I do think the worst case scenario is if somebody is running ninth and ends up on the podium and you haven’t flagged it up.

“You haven’t telegraphed that, that ‘Watch out for this. Watch out for Charlie Hermingtop. He’s ninth at the moment but his pace [is strong] and he’s not got to stop again.’

“It’s never happened but that would be my ultimate nightmare that somebody pops up and you’d be like, ‘Oh, he’s on the podium is he? Where did that come from?’”

Martin Brundle has created an array of iconic Formula 1 commentary lines

Brundle has delivered an array of iconic commentary lines since stepping aside from racing in Formula 1 to call the action. Even in his first year sharing ITV’s booth in 1997, the Briton was quick to mock Michael Schumacher when the German hit Jacques Villeneuve at Jerez.

As Schumacher and Villeneuve fought for victory in the 1997 European Grand Prix at Jerez, the German turned in on his Canadian rival when the Williams racer shot down the Ferrari legend’s inside. Schumacher even ended up beached in the gravel and Villeneuve took P3.

Quick off the mark after their collision, Brundle noted: “That didn’t work. You hit the wrong part of him, my friend.” He was also quick to create another slice of Formula 1 history with ITV at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton won his first drivers’ championship.

While Felipe Massa celebrated winning at home in Sao Paulo with Ferrari and potentially the championship, Hamilton snuck by Timo Glock at Juncao as the German struggled for grip. To which, Brundle quickly noted: “Is that Glock? Is that Glock going slowly? It is! That’s Glock!”