With Murray Walker's passing, F1 has lost its voice

One of Murray Walker's favorite sayings used to be, "Those who can, do, those who can't, talk about it."

Truer words have never been said, nor lived by, because, for a man who never even participated in a motor race of any significance, Murray Walker was one of the most revered names in F1.

Murray Walker could make ANYTHING exciting with his eccentric commentary style. This is one of my favourites - snooker! "He's missed it, he's missed it, FANTASTIC!!" pic.twitter.com/KQcg5iqN2A

— Paul McGinnes 🏁 (@PaulMcG92) March 13, 2021

The man known as “The Voice of F1”, passed away at the age of 97 on Saturday, March 13, leaving millions to come to terms with the reality that never again will the legendary orator’s voice be heard during a live F1 race.

Early days

Murray Walker was born with petrol coursing through his veins, for his father Graham Walker was an accomplished motorcycle racer who won the 1931 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy in the Lightweight class, and a regular on the grassroots scene.

For the young Murray, though, tanks would provide his first taste of powerful vehicles, as not long after attaining adulthood, he was off to fight in the second World War, where he made his way up to the rank of Tank Captain.

After the war, Murray Walker found his calling in advertising. During this time, his unique way with words - that would later be responsible for some of the most memorable phrases in F1 history - led to the coining of such catchy slogans as "A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play" and "Opal Fruits - made to make your mouth water" among others."

Murray Walker – Ad-man and part-time commentator

However, while advertising was his day job, Murray Walker started dabbing in commentary as far back as 1948, at that year's Shelsley Walsh hillclimb event, before going on to cover the 1949 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, a year before the track hosted the first official race of the inaugural Formula 1 World Championship.

Murray Walker & Damon Hill starring in a Pizza Hut advert in the UK in 1996. #RIPMurraypic.twitter.com/OSJnZoxhsp

— F1 in the 1990s 🚦🏎🏁🏆🍾 (@1990sF1) March 13, 2021

As he continued in advertising through the sixties and seventies, he kept his motorsport commentary role active during the weekends, getting into full-time radio coverage of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy events during the fifties alongside his father, and leading the coverage from 1962, following Graham's death.

Murray Walker soon expanded to covering motocross, or 'scrambles' as they were known, along with rallycross, and once the BBC started telecasting F1 on a regular basis, it was who else but Murray Walker that was brought in to front the coverage.

It was during this time that the legend of Murray Walker really started to grow, as his genuine enthusiasm, coupled with some innocent gaffes - now known as 'Murrayisms' - began to endear him to the viewers.

You might also like: 5 times commentators got carried away on air

While there are too many to list here, some of the standouts include such gems as, "The lead car is absolutely unique, except for the one behind it which is identical," and, "Tambay's hopes, which were nil before, are absolutely zero now!"

As the size of the audience that tuned in kept growing during the eighties, Murray Walker was there to talk us through it all. Along the way, he was paired with 1978 F1 World Champion James Hunt in the commentary booth.

Their early relationship was rocky at times, with Walker coming close to punching Hunt after the latter abruptly snatched the microphone away mid-commentary. But the two went on to strike up a wonderful partnership until Hunt died of a heart attack in 1993.

Liked by all, missed by everyone

Following Hunt’s passing, Murray Walker continued to be accompanied in the commentary booth by a revolving door of drivers such as Jonathan Palmer, Jackie Stewart, and Alan Jones, to name a few.

But it was Martin Brundle with whom Murray Walker struck up his second-longest commentary partnership, lasting until Walker’s retirement after the 2001 United States Grand Prix. Post-retirement, Walker continued to be a familiar face in the paddock, doing the occasional commentary spot on TV and radio, and remaining an unofficial ambassador of the sport till the end.

More about Martin Brundle: 10 F1 drivers who have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Despite his tremendous stature, Murray Walker remained highly approachable and affable, and was loved and respected universally. Fans lined up for hours to get his autograph and he was one of the few media personalities liked by the drivers too, because he could never bring himself to publicly criticize them during his commentary, letting his co-commentators call them out instead. The sport will certainly be poorer without Murray Walker.