Martin Brundle is the latest Formula 1 legend to be recognised for his work over the decades.
The Sky Sports pundit was made an OBE in the 2024 New Year’s Honours list for his services to motor sport and sports broadcasting. And, after the news was announced, he took to social media to explain what it meant to him to be recognised.
Former F1 racer Brundle, 65, wrote: “Thank you for so many lovely messages, they mean as much to me as the OBE, which is a great deal to say the least.
“My eternal and sincere thanks to family, friends, motorsport and broadcasting team-mates, and motorsport folk and fans, for the help and support since I first grass-tracked a Ford Anglia 53 years ago. It’s been a blast, I’m a very lucky man.”
Another man in the F1 world who has not been knighted but has recently been honoured is Red Bull chief Christian Horner. He was made a CBE in 2023 for his services to motorsport. Horner’s career began as a racing driver, becoming a race winner in the 1992 British Formula Renault Championship before switching to team management after retiring from competitive driving at the age of 25.
Horner has led Red Bull’s F1 team since 2005, winning six constructors’ championships between 2010 and 2023, and is married to Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell-Horner. Horner has had his eye on potentially landing a knighthood in the future – but it’s something that a 2024 featuring one very notable scandal may well have sidelined, especially for the foreseeable future.
Could either man join the realm of F1 personalities that have become knights? Mirror Sport takes a look at the, admittedly, rather short list…
The only non-Brit on the list, Australian Brabham was made a knight bachelor in 1979 – nine years after his retirement from racing, for his distinguished service to motor racing. A triple F1 champion, Brabham’s own eponymous team continued in F1 long after his retirement after it was sold to Bernie Ecclestone.
Dennis was actually knighted for his contributions to industry and charity, a co-founder and patron of Tommy’s which supports those who have suffered pregnancy loss. He is most famous, though, for his more than 30 years in charge of McLaren Racing, during which time he was Lewis Hamilton’s former boss.
Hamilton is by far the youngest on the list and, of course, the only one who is still racing in F1. His knighthood was confirmed in the 2021 New Year’s Honours list which helped dull the pain of missing out on an eighth title to rival Max Verstappen just a few weeks earlier.
Moss is a bona fide F1 legend so it is easy to forget that he was never actually world champion. He finished either second or third in the drivers’ standings for a remarkable seven seasons in a row until his retirement in 1962 after a crash that put him in a coma for a month and left him temporarily paralysed. Moss died in April 2020, aged 90.
Another triple F1 champion, Stewart was knighted in 2001 for his services to motor racing. But the inimitable Scot’s legacy is about far more than the silverware he has won – his push for increased safety in motorsport has saved countless lives, while he has devoted his later life to raising cash to find a cure for dementia since his wife Helen’s diagnosis in 2016.
Catch all the action from Formula One on Sky Sports and get exclusive access to races, qualifying and much more for every Grand Prix. From Max Verstappen to Lewis Hamilton, you won’t miss a lap on Sky Sports.
Get email updates with the day’s biggest stories