Mr Grid Walk reveals he is off to the Beeb

Speaking at the Autocar Awards in London this week, Martin Brundle confirmed what we all suspected - he will be part of the BBC’s F1 commentary team next season (and, presumably, throughout the station’s five-year contract as Britain’s official F1 broadcaster).

“I’m delighted to be able to tell you all that I’ll be joining the BBC next year,” Brundle said.

“I’ve been commentating on Formula One for the past dozen years, and I briefly considered calling it a day. But in the end I decided to take up the BBC’s offer and I’m now very excited about working for them next year.”

Excellent, Smithers. We won’t miss the puppyish James Allen or cheesy Steve Rider, both of whom have a whiff of Alan Partridge about them, but we would have missed the excellent Brundle.

Crasher bonus! Watch Brundle’s last grid walk for ITV, made before this year’s heart-stopping Brazilian Grand Prix: