Martin Donnelly (racing driver)
Hugh Peter Martin Donnelly is a British former racing driver from Northern Ireland who competed in Formula One at 15 Grands Prix from and.
Donnelly competed in Formula Three and International Formula 3000, where he won three races, including the 1987 Macau Grand Prix. In 1988, he placed third in International F3000 after only competing in the final five rounds. He raced in Formula One in and for Arrows and Lotus, until a serious crash during practice at the latter ended his Formula One career.
After leaving Formula One, he has become a driving coach and retains a close association with Lotus Cars. He returned to professional racing in 2015, competing at Thruxton in the British Touring Car Championship. His career inspired the backstory of Sonny Hayes in F1.
Racing career
Formula One
During, as well as his racing commitments, Donnelly was the test driver for Lotus Formula One team. But it was during that Donnelly got his first race start when he substituted for Arrows driver Derek Warwick at the 1989 French Grand Prix after Warwick injured his back in a non-competitive karting accident. He impressed in France qualifying 14th compared to his much more experienced teammate Eddie Cheever who started 25th on the grid. Donnelly finished his first F1 race three laps down in 12th place and was the last car running to finish while Cheever's experience told and he had a better race finishing only one lap down in seventh place.In, Donnelly continued in F1 with Lotus though this time not as a test driver but as a race driver alongside new teammate Derek Warwick. However, it was a frustrating season of scoring no points driving the V12 powered Lotus-Lamborghini which often saw him retire with engine failure. Donnelly's performance in the Lotus drew interest from several more competitive teams, prompting Lotus to renegotiate his contract for 5.6 million pounds, to prevent him from being bought out.
Jerez accident
At the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix held at the Jerez circuit, Donnelly suffered a serious crash caused by suspension failure during practice, with his Lotus hitting the wall at an estimated speed of. This caused his car to break apart and the safety cell to split open, which ejected Donnelly from the wreckage. Donnelly was sent across the live track as cars were still racing around it. He sustained multiple injuries, including brain and lung contusions as well as severe leg fractures, the latter of which almost necessitated the amputation of his right leg. Sid Watkins and medics rushed to the scene to save Donnelly's life on the race track, and he was airlifted to hospital. Watkins applied his skills upon arrival as it is reported Donnelly had swallowed his tongue on impact and was struggling to breathe. His friend Ayrton Senna watched on in horror and with concern for Donnelly. His condition was critical, and he was placed in a medically induced coma as his organs started to fail, with his heart stopping twice. His injuries were so severe that he was read the last rites by a priest. With extensive physiotherapy and further surgeries to his badly damaged leg, Donnelly was able to walk again.In 1993 Donnelly had a brief test with Jordan, but due to the severity of his injuries and self-doubt due to the horrific nature of his crash, Donnelly's Formula One career was over.
Footage from the crash was used in the 2025 film F1 as a major plot point.
After Formula One
In 1992, Donnelly returned to racing in rallycross, competing in the Vauxhall Nova Challenge.In 1995, Donnelly scored a single win in the short-lived Formula Classic series.
Donnelly has since raced in smaller club events, and owned a Formula Vauxhall and Formula Three team, Martin Donnelly Racing. In 2004, Donnelly raced a Mazda RX-8 in a Silverstone 24-Hour race, finishing in 27th place. 2006 saw Donnelly return to Lotus, participating in a track day sponsored by a Lotus owner's club. In September 2007, Donnelly beat 35 other Lotus Elises to win Class A in the Donington Park round of the Elise Trophy. This class win was closely followed by the race win in the 2nd Elise Trophy race of the day. Later in the season he raced at Spa-Francorchamps and in 2008, campaigned in a Lotus 2-Eleven. Donnelly continues to have a close relationship with Elise Trophy organisers LoTRDC, racing in a Lotus Evora in 2012 and he is currently working as a club steward for Lotus Cup Europe. In 2017 Donnelly raced in the FIA Lotus Cup Europe in a Motul sponsored Lotus Elise.
Donnelly worked as a driver development director for Comtec Racing in 2008. By 2009, Donnelly was no longer associated with Comtec Racing. In June 2010, Donnelly drove as a guest in the Ginetta G50 Cup at Oulton Park. On 2 July 2011 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Donnelly drove a Lotus 102 similar to that which nearly took his life. The Lamborghini-powered car was the same specification as the car he drove in 1990, the original car having been completely destroyed in the crash. He has been appointed as the driver representative on the FIA stewards panel for a number of F1 Grand Prix including most recently the 2012 and 2013 Canadian Grand Prix.
Having worked as sporting director and driver development manager at Comtec Racing, Donnelly has recently formed the Donnelly track academy specialising in Lotus trackday events and racing services in Norfolk.
Donnelly made his British Touring Car Championship début in [2015 2015 British Touring Car Championship|British Touring Car Championship season|2015], briefly driving for the works Infiniti-Support Our Paras Racing team, but the team's plans were thrown into disarray by the marque's subsequent withdrawal of its backing from the project, and he was replaced by Max Coates.
In 2019, Donnelly crashed his moped while participating in a charity rally, rebreaking his femur and subsequently suffering from sepsis. As he was unable to work due to his injuries, a successful fundraiser was held, drawing donations from numerous members of the racing community.
Racing record
Career summary
Complete International Formula 3000 results
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
| 1988 | Jordan Racing | JER | VAL | PAU | SIL | MNZ | PER | BRH 1 | BIR 2 | BUG 2 | ZOL Ret | DIJ 1 | 3rd | 30 |
| 1989 | Jordan Racing | SIL Ret | VAL DSQ | PAU Ret | JER Ret | PER Ret | BRH 1 | BIR 3 | SPA Ret | BUG 7 | DIJ 17 | 8th | 13 |
Complete Japanese Formula 3000 results
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | DC | Points |
| 1989 | Team Kygnus Tonen | SUZ | FUJ | MIN | SUZ 9 | SUG 7 | FUJ Ret | SUZ | SUZ | NC | 0 |
Complete Formula One results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Pts. |
| 1989 | Arrows Grand Prix International | Arrows A11 | Ford V8 | BRA | SMR | MON | MEX | USA | CAN | FRA 12 | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | POR | ESP | JPN | AUS | NC | 0 |
| 1990 | Camel Team Lotus | Lotus 102 | Lamborghini V12 | USA DNS | BRA Ret | SMR 8 | MON Ret | CAN Ret | MEX 8 | FRA 12 | GBR Ret | GER Ret | HUN 7 | BEL 12 | ITA Ret | POR Ret | ESP DNS | JPN | AUS | NC | 0 |
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | Pos | Points |
| 2015 | Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing | Infiniti Q50 | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | BRH 3 | DON 1 | DON 2 | DON 3 | THR 1 20 | THR 2 19 | THR 3 Ret | OUL 1 | OUL 2 | OUL 3 | CRO 1 | CRO 2 | CRO 3 | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | SNE 3 | KNO 1 | KNO 2 | KNO 3 | ROC 1 | ROC 2 | ROC 3 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | SIL 3 | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | BRH 3 | 35th | 0 |