If there were a ‘Voice of F1’ award, Martin Brundle would surely take the honor in the current era of the sport. That is at least what Harry Benjamin called him on a recent episode of the BackSeat Drivers podcast.
Benjamin recalled his first time sharing the commentary booth with Brundle. The reverence for the legend quickly threw him off dealing with a bout of imposter syndrome.
“I got the opportunity this year [2024] to commentate Sky Sports F1 with Martin Brundle. For me, Martin Brundle is the voice that I grew up with,” said Benjamin. “So then be told at the age of 26 that you’re going to lead the Sky Sports F1 commentary. Your co-commentator is Martin Brundle, by the way.”
“That’s when imposter syndrome is at an all-time high,” he admitted. Thankfully, Brundle was welcoming of his new commentator and made him comfortable. Unfortunately, the nerves returned just before the duo were going on air.
“I’m commentating (on) a race with Martin Brundle. What is going on?” Benjamin recalled his inner voice.
A quick blurry photo with MB because I panicked and the national anthem was coming to an end
A race I’ll remember for a very long time. Cheers for having me back @SkySportsF1 pic.twitter.com/JE7oVSQWLh
— Harry Benjamin (@imharrybenjamin) June 30, 2024
Benjamin confessed to treating the 65-year-old ex-F1 driver differently. When with his co-commentators at BBC, he wouldn’t shy away from letting them know when they were speaking too much and needed to let him take over. With Brundle, he was happy to let the veteran hog the spotlight for however long he wanted.
“Martin is the Adrian Newey of commentary”: Karun Chandhok
Benjamin is not the only co-commentator who is in awe of Brundle and his craft with the mic. Former F1 driver and Sky F1 pundit Chandhok is in the same boat. In his own way of honoring his colleague, Chandhok compared Brundle with star aerodynamicist Adrian Newey.
“I am very lucky now. They (Sky) are the biggest broadcasters on the planet,” Chandhok said on the Evo India podcast. “I work with great people and learning from someone like Martin Brundle. Martin is the Adrian Newey of commentary,” he added.
Brundle usually shared the commentary booth with his trusted confidante, David Croft. It is only when Croft isn’t available that others like Chandhok and Benjamin get an opportunity to share the space with the former Le Mans winner. Clearly, they both cherish whatever opportunity comes their way to learn from the best in the business.
