RacingMartin Brundle will scale back his Sky Sports F1 on-site coverage to 16 races in 2026, down from 18 in 2025. The iconic grid-walker will be at fewer grands prix going forward, but he has already circled his return to the paddock in Miami on May 3.
After calling the season opener in Australia, Brundle missed China and Japan. On Sky Sports’ The F1 Show podcast, he said he will be back on the ground for the Miami Grand Prix and framed the Florida weekend as a post-break relaunch for F1. “I do 16 races a year, so I have to miss some, and they tend to be the early-hours-of-the-morning races,” Brundle said on the show. He added that he was sad not to be in Suzuka because he loves the track as a driver and as a broadcaster.
His lighter 2026 schedule continues a steady trim of on-site duties. Brundle, 66, has been a fixture of UK F1 coverage since 1997, first with ITV and then the BBC, before joining Sky when it took over the rights. His grid walk interviews have become a staple of the pre-race build-up and helped define Sky’s race-day coverage.
Sky F1 has moved to a rotation system as the calendar has grown, sharing long-haul and early start events across its commentary team. What is not clear is whether Brundle’s reduced tally for 2026 is tied to a new contract or simply the shape of future calendars. Sky declined to comment when asked about the reason for the change.
Brundle’s early-season pattern hints at how that rotation plays out. He was on duty in Australia, then off for the China and Japan rounds, which both ran in UK morning hours. His plan to return in Miami sets him up for one of the year’s most watched events, and he presented it on The F1 Show as a natural point to reset after the early flyaways.
The adjustment means fans will see less of Brundle in person at circuits, even as he keeps a regular presence across the season. He made clear on the podcast that missing Suzuka stung, given his long connection to the place and its demands, but he set out a schedule that he says works for him over a long year. The broader picture, tied to Sky’s rotation and the sport’s ever-busier calendar, suggests his on-site role will be more focused, with Miami marking the next chapter of that approach.