F1 pundit Martin Brundle gets OBE in King's new year honours
Brundle has been a mainstay of F1 TV coverage since the 1990s
Sky Sports commentator and former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle has been awarded an OBE in the King’s New Year Honours list.
Brundle, 65, is a veteran of 158 F1 grand prix starts for Tyrrell, Zakspeed, Williams, Brabham, Benetton, Ligier, McLaren and Jordan between 1984 and 1996.
Scoring nine podiums in his time, Brundle can also boast success outside of F1, including victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1990.
From 1997, Brundle became a commentator and pundit for ITV’s F1 coverage, which is a role he has held since, doing so for the BBC between 2009 and 2011, and latterly Sky Sports since 2012.
Perhaps the most famous element of Brundle’s time in F1 TV coverage has been his grid walks.
While mostly serving as co-commentator to the likes of Murray Walker, James Allen, Jonathan Legard and David Croft, Brundle took the lead for the 2011 season at the BBC - with David Coulthard his co-commentator.
In the King’s New Year Honours list, Brundle has been awarded an OBE.
He’s not the first F1 name to make the honours list, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton receiving a knighthood in 2022.
Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss have also received that honour.
On Brundle’s OBE, 1996 F1 world champion and fellow Sky pundit Damon Hill said: “Much deserved honour for the Bard of Kings Lynn.
“If anyone thinks talking is easy, I'll challenge them to do what Martin has done for our sport.
“Like the proverbial Swan, he retains perfect posture when all around are flapping ducks. Happy New season Martin Brundle OBE.”
