Portuguese GP: Who Is Haas F1’s Martin Shepherd?

The 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix started off on a rather sad note on Thursday, as the entire F1 paddock came together in the pit lane for a moment of silence for Haas’ teammate, Martin Shepherd, who passed away on April 20, 2021.

What’s more, the Haas F1 team further announced that both their cars will be portraying his name as a mark of respect for the 25-year-old. The Haas crew will also wear a black armband as a sign of mourning for their lost colleague.

The Briton had been fighting his own battle at home after suffering massive injuries to his brain in July 2019. After the two-year struggle, Martin finally gave up. Although his family opened up to Haas about his passing, they decided against disclosing any further personal information.

Martin Shepherd in Formula 1

Martin was a part of the Haas garage until July 2019, although his role remains unclear. Prior to his time with the American team, Martin also played the role of an English logistics support assistant in the championship-winning team, Petronas Mercedes AMG.

In a tweet, Haas also revealed that the Briton always sported an “ever-present smile” who possessed an immense passion for the job in the garage.

Eventually, Mercedes, too, joined Haas in paying their respects to their former teammate through their social media handle.

What really happened to Martin?

Martin was involved in a serious motorbike accident while returning home from work on July 10, 2019. Although he managed to survive the accident, the injuries were quite severe, including broken bones and traumatic brain injury.

Consequently, Martin had to go through numerous surgeries in a bid to repair the broken bones. He also went through major brain surgery and remained in the intensive care unit for almost three months.

As expected, it wasn’t an easy three months for Martin, as he constantly suffered chest infections and kidney failure, which he ultimately recovered well from. However, it was the brain injuries that resisted showing any signs of improvement.

After all the medical efforts, Martin ended up in a state of Prolonged Disorder of Consciousness (PDOC). Since then, it had been a battle of hope for himself and his family. But as days went by, the hope diminished, as Martin, sadly, bid his final goodbye to the world.

We offer our deepest condolences to Martin Shepherd’s family and friends.