Brundle shares ‘tricky decision’ as statement confirms retirement

F1 legend Martin Brundle has been forced to retire after making a comeback to racing this weekend at the age of 66.

Brundle was an F1 racer in his own right before becoming the centrepiece of Sky’s coverage on race weekends, competing between 1984-1996, claiming nine podiums in that time.

With no F1 action this weekend, Brundle took to the home of the Belgian Grand Prix to drive in a historic car meet and compete in the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps race in the Ardennes, with his former rival Christian Danner - who raced in F1 for four seasons between 1985 and 1989 - also one of three drivers in the rival Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint car.

The Sky Sports favourite got behind the wheel for the first time in three years on Friday, sharing the cockpit of a Ford GT40 with his son and fellow F1 broadcaster Alex Brundle, and racing expert Gary Pearson.

The trio could only manage to finish Friday’s qualifying in P6 after running into traffic out on track, but with ex-F1 star Brundle kicking off Saturday’s six-hour race, the team were hopeful over a comeback.

However, following Brundle’s stint at the wheel of the number 43 Ford, his son took to social media to reveal that the team had retired from the event.

Brundle retires after racing comeback

Alex, who is also an F1 broadcaster, took to the @brundle_motorsport Instagram story as the race concluded on Saturday night, revealing the ‘tricky decision’ he had taken to pull out of the event along with his father and team-mate Pearson.

The 35-year-old said: "We have one hour to go in Spa six hours, unfortunately, we don’t, because the oil pressure of the car started fluctuating really badly.

"Obviously oil lubricates everything, you can’t run the engine without any oil pressure. I was in the car when it happened, I know the engine really well and the car really well and it didn’t sound happy so I decided to stop, always a tricky decision to make.

"We made the decision to retire, unfortunately, which means we’re out of the Spa Six Hours in 2025. We had good fun."

The retirement from the event was also confirmed with a post on both the team’s social media and Alex's account following the announcement, and though Brundle senior will no doubt be disappointed after successfully completing his 'valiant stint to box P5 overall', he had previously made it clear that results were not his motivation for getting back behind the wheel competitively.

Speaking prior to the race, the broadcaster, known for his famous grid walks, said: "Even on GP weekends [when commentating at the same events], we don't see much of each other, so it's a rare opportunity for a father and son weekend. Me and Al did Le Mans together in 2012 and we've raced together in Jaguar E-types, so it'll be fun.

"I haven't raced for three years, since the Goodwood Revival, but enjoy working with Gary. I'd not driven the GT40 until a test session at Silverstone just before the festival. I wanted to see whether I liked it, and did, so we decided to do Spa.

"I have no aspirations. I love Spa and love the car, but have yet to experience it on full tanks. That will be interesting."

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