Martin Brundle was tipped for greatness when he chased Ayrton Senna to the British Formula Three title in 1983.
But while Senna ascended to stardom via Toleman, Lotus and McLaren, Brundle in 1984 found himself in a Tyrrell team that were disqualified from the season for ballast infringements. On top of that he broke his legs at the one-off Dallas Grand Prix and still suffers pain from it to this day.
Unfulfilling years passed with Tyrrell (’85-6), then Zakspeed in 1987. He switched to sports cars for 1988 but stepped in for the unwell Nigel Mansell at Williams in Belgium.
The following year he joined the re-formed Brabham team. He raced for them again in 1991 after another break, but they remained a shadow of their former selves.
Finally in 1992 he got a break with Benetton but despite nearly winning in Canada he was dropped by Flavio Briatore.
He impressed at Ligier in 1993 and got a McLaren drive for 1994 but was overshadowed by Mika Hakkinen as the struggled with unreliable Peugeot engines.
A part-time Ligier place followed for 1995 before a final season with Jordan in 1996.
Brundle then traded helmet for microphone to co-host ITV’s Formula One coverage with Murray Walker, and became a firm favourite. The BBC kept Brundle on when they took over F1 coverage and made him the lead commentator in 2011.
