F1 legend Martin Brundle shares broken bone horror story at Miami Grand Prix

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F1 legend Martin Brundle shares broken bone horror story at Miami Grand Prix

Martin Brundle raced in F1 between 1984-1996

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 5 May 2025 09:57

At the Miami Grand Prix this weekend, F1 legend Martin Brundle recalled a horror crash that he was involved in from the 1994 Japanese GP which left a marshal with a broken leg.

The broadcasting legend raced in Formula 1 between 1984-1996, before taking up duties with ITV, the BBC and now Sky Sports F1.

At the Miami GP weekend, Brundle was discussing the treacherous conditions during the sprint race, when he revealed that he and his fellow competitors used to go racing in much worse conditions than is deemed acceptable today.

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The sprint race was delayed and extra formation laps were added, as rain teamed down and Oscar Piastri described it as the 'worst visibility' he had ever faced.

"80s and 90s, we wouldn’t have even thought twice about racing in this, but it was a bit crazy and we had some big crashes.

"I had one myself in Suzuka where I sadly broke a marshal’s leg very badly when I went flying off the track, aquaplaning in a great big puddle.

"We did use to start a race in these conditions but in this day and age we don’t, these things are violently fast and have big fat tyres on the back."

Miami GP sees downpour

The sprint race in Miami saw conditions so wet that Charles Leclerc aquaplaned and went flying off the track before the race had even begun.

Brundle mentioned how his crash, at the 1994 Japanese GP which was eventually red flagged following a plethora of retirements, was very similar to Leclerc's incident.

That race saw a crucial victory for Damon Hill in what was the penultimate race of the season, and the Brit would go on to lose the championship by just one point to the legendary Michael Schumacher.

That was because of a controversial incident at the season-ending Australian GP, where Schumacher seemed to crash into Hill, taking both cars out of the race and sealing the German his first of seven career championships.

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Ferrari Oscar Piastri Charles Leclerc Miami Grand Prix Martin Brundle Sky Sports F1