What’s the scariest moment you’ve had behind the wheel of your car? Did it come while traversing a particularly long bridge, or maybe while driving along a pretty dangerous road? I imagine it wasn’t captured on film in the same way as Martin Brundle’s nightmare moment behind the wheel of a priceless McLaren F1, was it?
Ex-Formula 1 driver Brundle has had a few scary moments on the track, there was his huge crash at the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix and that time he tried to interview Megan Thee Stallion on the grid in Austin. Clearly, he doesn’t have much luck in America. However, his sketchy moment in a McLaren F1 came well clear of any Formula 1 tracks, and was instead while he was creating a DVD of car reviews, which was all the rage in the early 2000s.
In the film he created for “Top Gear” rival show “Fifth Gear,” Brundle got behind the wheel of a McLaren F1 to show just what it was capable of on the roads of the UK. However, he did so on a damp day on a road covered in leaves and mud, as he describes the scene. This detritus and a seven-figure supercar isn’t a great combination.
While the ex-Benetton racer was offering his thoughts on the car’s handling, his face suddenly drops and you can almost see the exact moment his soul leaves his body. The former racer then does a quick flick of the wrists to get the car back under control, and save for a change in expression remains composed through the whole ordeal, even continuing his ramblings about the car.
It’s quite the scene, really, and he later comments on how easy it would be to lose it in a car like this on a road like that. The clip, which is available to watch above, was taken from a DVD called Martin Brundle’s Supercars. In it, the presenter gets behind the wheel of other post cars like the Pagani Zonda, Bugatti EB110 and even an Volvo station wagon. Really, it’s got it all.
Thankfully, Brudle doesn’t have any more close calls in the other cars he tests through the film, but it just goes to show that even the pros have tricky days behind the wheel.