Ayrton Senna and Martin Brundle were entangled in an iconic rivalry when the two were plying their trade in Formula 3, back in 1982. Though the Brazilian racing ace had the edge over Brundle in the beginning, he soon got rattled by the Briton. So much so that Brundle getting better off Senna made the latter call the entire system ‘rigged’.
When the championship went to Silverstone, a joint race between the British and European F3 series was run. As it turned out, the European F3 series used different compounds of tires. Both Brundle and Senna opted for the European variants. However, these tires suited Brundle brilliantly and after winning 9 races on the trot, Senna was defeated.
Brundle was in a different league in that race. Senna was so infuriated, he crashed trying to keep up with the Briton. On the eff won with DRS podcast, it was explained, “So, psychologically, he [Brundle] basically got into Senna’s head. Brundle won 6 of the next 8 races.”
Senna was fuming at this point. After losing a handful of races in a row to Brundle, Senna famously even accused the ‘system of being rigged’. Putting arguably the greatest racing driver ever through such misery surely has to be a highlight of Brundle’s short-lived racing career.
The unfulfilled potential of Martin Brundle
Brundle was a revered racing driver in the United Kingdom for his prowess on the track. That famous F3 season alongside Senna is a firm testament to that fact. Many expected him to be a future Formula 1 world champion.
However, his big break in the sport with Tyrell was the start of his downfall. In his very first season of F1 racing, Brundle suffered a horrific crash during the practice session for the 1984 Dallas GP that led to him breaking both his ankles and feet. Martin Brundle was never the same driver again.
His second coming to the sport wasn’t any better, luck-wise. His stint with Brabham in 1989 went hugely unnoticed. In 1991 he drove for a sluggish Brabham team. In 1992, he finally got his hands on a decent car in the Benetton but was overshadowed by his teammate, Michael Schumacher.
After the 1996 season, Brundle switched the cockpit for the commentary booth, and the rest, as they say, is history.
