Martin Brundle has reflected on a recent conversation he had with Murray Walker, and believes the F1 commentator legend knew he was dying. Walker was 97 years old when he passed away in mid-March, having suffered an illness prior to his death. The upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix will be the first race Murray won't witness, having began his career in commentary even before the World Championship formally began in 1950. It'll also be 24 years since Martin Brundle made his fulltime commentary debut alongside Murray Walker in the booth for ITV at the 1997 Australian Grand Prix. “The last time I spoke to Murray was a few weeks ago and he said some things to me which were absolutely lovely,” Brundle said in an interview with The Telegraph. “He was being very magnanimous and I realised when I was cleaning my teeth the morning after he died - because it had been bugging me all night - that he knew he was off, he knew he was going to die. “In that conversation, I said to him, 'How are you, Murray?' And he replied by saying, 'Not very well, Martin, but I am not going to bore you with that. What is going on in Formula One?' His passing was emotional for me. I had called him the week before he died but he didn’t pick up. I left him a message and he would normally ring back but he didn’t." Walker helped Brundle as the former F1 driver turned to broadcasting after the conclusion of his driving career. Brundle worked alongside Walker in the commentary booth until the end of 2001, with Murray retiring from fulltime work at that year's United States Grand Prix. “I have wonderful memories but you think to yourself, why didn’t we have more? He retired at 77 and I wish our partnership had gone on for longer," Brundle reminisced. “But once I got over the initial sadness, I thought, he was 97, pin sharp to the very end, it was a life well-lived, and a life well-loved. We should celebrate Murray and not commiserate him.”
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