Martin Brundle opens up on the brutal moment he learned he had lost his F1 seat

Former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle has revealed the "harsh" way he found out he had lost his seat.

Brundle made his F1 debut at the 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix with Tyrrell, finishing fifth in his first race. While he suffered a horrific crash during the Dallas Grand Prix in his rookie season, which led doctors to consider an amputation of his left foot while also leaving him with permanent injuries, he continued with the team in the next two seasons.

The Briton signed with Zakspeed in 1987 and at the end of the season, he decided to take a year out of F1 racing. He returned to the championship in 1989 with Brabham alongside Stefano Modena, and later drove for Benetton, Ligier, McLaren and Jordan before his F1 exit at the end of 1996.

During an interview on Sky Sports F1 with Natalie Pinkham, Brundle explained that he had no idea that he was losing his seat for the 1997 season. 

"I finished fifth in my final F1 race as I finished fifth in my first F1 race. It was Japan 1996," Brundle said.

Erich Zakowski, Zakspeed Team Principal and Martin Brundle

Photo by: Sutton Images

"Long story actually, I thought I was driving for Eddie [Jordan] in '97. When I see drivers getting farewell tours and all that sort of thing, I'm slightly envious. I was at what I call the racing car show at Birmingham, and, 'How long do you have?' I said, 'I don't know another hour. Do you need me to do something?'

"They were like, 'No, it might be better if you're not here because Eddie announced Ralf Schumacher and Giancarlo Fisichella as the two drivers.' And that's how I found out I was no longer a Formula 1 driver that day.

"It all got a little bit murky, but honestly, if I were Eddie, I'd have done the same thing because I was at the end of my shelf life, and he got two young charges in there. But it was still a pretty harsh way to find out."