Martin Brundle to miss more F1 races as Sky pundit announces streamlined schedule

Brundle in white shirt holding red and blue Sky Sports microphone with red and blue contrasting background — Photo: © IMAGO

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Martin Brundle to miss more F1 races as Sky pundit announces streamlined schedule

Brundle has only been at one out of the opening three race weekends in 2026

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 8 April 2026 21:55

Sky Sports F1 legend Martin Brundle has announced a reduced schedule for the 2026 season after missing two out of the championship's opening three race weekends.

F1 2026 kicked off with a bang in Melbourne where fans were delighted to see the sport return alongside Brundle's grid walk, which took place before the first Sunday race of the season.

But the British pundit hasn't made an appearance on screen with Sky Sports since March 8, returning to their podcast platform instead to explain his absence.

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After missing both the Chinese and Japanese Grand Prix weekends, Brundle revealed on The F1 Show that once again, he is only contracted for 16 races this season.

The 2026 campaign was set to run for 24 race weekends, but as the ongoing conflict continues to rage on in the Middle East, F1 made the decision to cancel the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

With no replacement grands prix selected, the first championship under the sport's controversial new regulations will now only consist of 22 races.

Why does Martin Brundle not attend every F1 race with Sky Sports?

After last month's race at Suzuka, Brundle joined fellow Sky presenters Natalie Pinkham and David Croft to break down all the action from the Japanese GP.

During his podcast appearance, Brundle said: "I do 16 races a year, so I have to miss some and they tend to be the early hours of the morning races.

"But I always feel a bit sad when I'm not in Suzuka because I love that track as a driver and as a broadcaster, but can't do them all these days."

Brundle's fellow British broadcasters then pointed out just how much his presence was missed at the third round of the 2026 campaign, with the ex-F1 driver reassuring them he would be back with the Sky Sports team at the next round in the United States.

"I'm definitely in Miami," Brundle replied.

"I mean, that is going to be, I think, almost like the start of a new Formula 1 season, isn't it? Going to be one of the biggest relaunches in the history of Formula 1, I think. And it's going to be late April, early May. But looking forward to it.”

The 66-year-old missed eight race weekends across the 2025 campaign as part of Sky Sports' revolving approach to their on-screen talent.

Brundle has already missed two grands prix in 2026, but will be back in Miami when the FIA will hopefully have listened to his warning that urgent tweaks are needed when it comes to the 2026 regulations.

When is the next F1 race?

The Japanese Grand Prix at the end of March marked the last race for over a month, with fans, drivers and teams set for a five-week long enforced break in the 2026 calendar throughout April.

After F1 opted to cancel both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, the next race won't be until the Miami Grand Prix, which kicks off on May 1.

The fourth round of the 2026 championship will also mark the second sprint race of the year, with a single practice session taking place on Friday, May 1, before sprint qualifying at 4:30pm local time (EDT).

Saturday, May 2 will then see the sprint race kick off at midday EDT before qualifying for the main grand prix takes place at 4pm.

Sunday, May 3 will then likely see Brundle's grid walk return before lights out for the Miami GP at 4pm EDT.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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