Long live Brundle's grid walk, showcase of F1's good, bad and evil

F1

Some love its absurdity, others want more cold, hard driver race chat – Martin Brundle's grid walk is perfect as it is, says James Elson

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Brundle bemused and belittled again – Pitt clearly has more important places to be

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James Elson

“Sorry, I’m trying to talk to the person behind you.”

Another race, another classic ‘Brundle-ism’ is born as Sky F1’s pre-race man on the ground is left bemused and belittled by the latest celebrity whose gigantic ego rivals only that of F1 itself.

Last weekend’s pre-race shenanigans served up another iconic brief Brundle encounter with Brad Pitt, who was supposedly doing research for “the best F1 film ever” – according to Lewis Hamilton – but was apparently far too busy en route to a front-of-grid photo call to give more than a cursory remark to someone whose likeness will probably appear in said motion picture.

This is so often the fate bestowed upon Le Mans winner, WEC champion and 165-GP veteran Martin Brundle – thought by many to be F1’s best commentator and pundit – as he is left to chase the shadows of shallow celebs whose PR guru thought it might be a good idea to appear at the most glamorous event in town that weekend.

Much like the ‘Megan Thee Stallion’ moment at the previous Austin race last year – almost at the exact same spot on the COTA straight – Pitt immediately became hugely unpopular with many F1 diehards who saw the interaction, and a fair few causal viewers too.

“How dare he do this to our St Martin, the representation of all that is great and good in grand prix racing!” came the indignant cries around the social media echo chamber.

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Many also claimed that the grid walk is a waste of time – why isn’t he talking to the drivers anyway? Aren’t they the real stars?

You could have a quick Checo chat or some (side-splitting) Bottas banter, but the problem is that say they all say the same, largely uninspiring, things every week.

To paraphrase Clive James, Brundle might as well interview the cars – and this is exactly what makes his grid walk so brilliant.

The sharper end of motor racing in general, but particularly F1, has always attracted celebrities like bluebottles who just can’t keep away from the buzzing neon light.

Grid walks are a perfect demonstration of just how vacuous F1 is, a combination of sport and celebrity which equals entertainment – it has nearly always been like this, even in the days of the European Cup and before.

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All facets of F1 come under the microscope on the grid walk

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How many of those who were crying about motor racing’s Olympic aspirations by virtue of their Now TV subscription were present at last weekend’s washed-out Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch? Probably, just possibly, not many.

As a long-central part of the TV build-up, the grid walk is about entertainment – and Brundle’s trials and tribulations accompanied by sarcastic remarks are just that – as shown at this year’s Miami GP, British GP and now Austin this season alone.

Ozzy Osbourne giving a stuttering synopsis of his new Rasputin-themed musical, Serena Williams pretending she has no interest in a former Norfolk grass racing champion or Kimi Räikkönen describing pithily what he was doing instead of watching some pointless pre-race ceremony is funny – much funnier than all the forced laughter brought by teams’ nauseating social media output.

F1’s attempts to further plume its feathers by inviting celebrities who appear to have little to no interest in their surroundings, and in fact only want to be seen themselves, is an idea that should be punctured, and the grid walk is perfect at doing this.

He might not chat to everyone, but at various GPs you can also spy Saudi Arabia’s protector of the free world Prince Mohammed bin Salman hobnobbing with Stefano Domenicali – whilst Brundle might get a pointless word from Qatar cheerleader David Beckham or a slightly chilling quick chat with his mate and Bahrain GP mastermind Prince Salman bin Hamad, a country which still retains the death penalty and continues “to commit serious human rights violations, including torture and other ill-treatment as well as suppression of freedom of expression and assembly,” according to Amnesty International – charming!

 

That’s the thing about the grid walk – it’s all there.

Brundle might find the whole experience excruciating – he has said several times he doesn’t enjoy it – but this time-honoured pre-race ritual really does show F1 in its truest form.

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