The fifth episode of F1 Beyond The Grid podcast for 2019 has broadcaster and commentator Murray Walker speaking on various topics from his time.
Walker starts the podcast talking about the digitalised world, while he adds on watching the Bahrain GP, where he felt sad for Charles Leclerc to miss out on a sure win until his Ferrari power unit gave up in the latter stages of the grand prix.
He then goes back in time to discuss his journey in F1 which started in 1978 when he worked part-time along with his advertising commitments. Walker states the passion for F1 and motorsport in general was always there as his dad was a motorcycle racer.
He himself had some races under his belt. Although he started in 1978 but it was only from 1982 that he did broadcasting and commentating full-time after retiring from his advertising work at the age of 60. His first full-time F1 work was with James Hunt.
Walker then details his relationship with the 1976 F1 champion and the approach the British racer had. He moved on to talk about Martin Brundle then – while also revealed that the grid walk was first initiated by Walker and not Brundle.
He describes Juan Manuel Fangio as his favourite driver while adding that he got along with the British drivers most on the paddock – as he names the likes of Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, Sir Jackie Stewart and more. He elaborates on his relation with Hill as well.
Moving on, Walker then talked about Ayrton Senna and the ill-fated weekend, where he was commentating. At first, he felt that the Brazilian would walk away as the corner had seen multiple crashes already but he soon realised, it was bigger than the previous ones.
On the topic of his favourite grand prix, he regards the Australian GP at Adelaide as its best venue while adding that Williams remains his favourite team. He then discussed the future of F1 where he personally doesn’t resonate with the turbo and electric move.
Hear from Guenther Steiner in Episode 4 of 2019
