Martin Brundle has been awarded an OBE in the King’s 2025 new year honours list for services to motor racing and sports broadcasting.
The former F1 driver and Sky Sports pundit, famous for his pre-race grid walk segments, competed in 158 grands prix over a 13-year career before moving into television presenting.
The 65-year-old has worked for the lead British broadcaster of F1 – ITV, BBC and now Sky – for over 25 years as an analyst and co-commentator.
Brundle made his F1 debut in 1984 after finishing runner-up to Ayrton Senna in Formula Three a year earlier.
He raced for Tyrrell, Zakspeed, Williams, Brabham, Benetton, Ligier, McLaren and Jordan during a distinguished career.
Brundle recorded nine podiums and 98 career points, but never claimed a grand prix victory. He did, however, win the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race with Jaguar.
After his retirement at the end of the 1996 season, Brundle has worked as a broadcaster of F1 on British television. He currently co-commentates on Sky Sports’ coverage of races alongside David Croft.
Brundle is known for his amusing and sometimes awkward encounters with drivers and celebrities on the grid before races.
Brundle told off Kylian Mbappe’s bodyguard this year in Monaco, saying “I’m in charge here”, when trying to conduct an interview with the France and Real Madrid star in May.
In Brazil last November, Brundle bumped into American rapper Machine Gun Kelly and an odd interview occurred, in which the American rapper fiddled with Brundle’s poppy, asked him to play the air guitar and put his thumb down to the camera at the end.
Brundle also briefly encountered Shaquille O’Neal in Las Vegas last year with the NBA legend simply saying “Lewis Hamilton baby”.
Brundle also endured hilarious encounters with DJ Khaled and Pharrell Williams in Miami in 2022, as well as a slightly frosty exchange with Cara Delevingne at Silverstone last year, in which the model refused to talk to the broadcaster.
A respected and knowledgable figure in the paddock, Brundle is set to be front and centre of Sky’s coverage of F1 in 2025, when Lewis Hamilton moves to Ferrari.
