Stage of the Australian Formula 1 GP which takes place in the early hours of next Sunday (24), starting at 1 am (Brasília time), the Melbourne track has already witnessed some shocking accidents, one of them, on the first lap of the race held in 1996, involving British driver Martin Brundle, who was a Jordan-Peugeot driver.
Then a teammate of Rubens Barrichello, Brundle started well behind the Brazilian on March 10, 1996, in 19th place, 11 positions behind Rubinho.
Brundle had moved up to 18th place and ended up being tapped by David Coulthard’s McLaren, which had swerved around Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s Sauber and turned abruptly to the left.
Brundle’s Jordan even touched Johny Herbert’s Sauber and immediately overturned, passing at high speed through the grassy area, next to a guard rail.
Despite the very strong impact, Brundle, then 36 years old, managed to leave the cockpit alone, but was immediately attended to by inspectors.
Brundle seemed impressed as he checked the condition of his Jordan, whose Peugeot engine was separated from the chassis, completely twisted at the rear. The cockpit, however, remained absolutely intact, as well as the intact steering wheel, which prevented the pilot’s head from colliding with the ground.
The driver was placed in a service car and taken to the circuit’s Medical Center, for the usual procedures, and released without injuries.
NEW STARTING PROCEDURE
With the accident, the race direction signaled a red flag and there was a new starting procedure, this time without complications. The victory went to Briton Damon Hill, who led the Williams-Renault one-two, followed by Jacques Villeneuve.
Irishman Eddie Irvine (Ferrari) completed the podium, in third.
Rubens Barrichello had problems with the Peugeot engine in his Jordan and retired on the 29th lap. The other two Brazilians reached the top ten: Ricardo Rosset (Footwork-Hart) was ninth and Pedro Paulo Diniz (Ligier-Mugen-Honda) finished in tenth place.
MARTIN BRUNDLE
Brundle, Ayrton Senna’s biggest rival in British Formula 3, is 64 years old and is currently a commentator for Sky Sports in the Formula 1 World Championship. He competed in Formula 1 between 1984 and 1989 and then between 1990 and 1996. He debuted for Tyrrell and also worked for Zakspeed, Williams, Brabham, Benetton, Ligier, McLaren and Jordan, and never won in the category in which he obtained nine podiums.
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