Martin Brundle was involved in another classic grid-walk moment as he had an awkward exchange with former Italian footballer Marco Materazzi.
The Sky Sports F1 pundit and co-commentator is given time to walk down the track and interview drivers, team principals and other guests before the start of a Grand Prix race. Today, before the Australian Grand Prix got underway in Melbourne, Brundle met with the former Inter Milan defender who is also best known for being on the receiving end of the infamous Zinedine Zidane headbutt in the 2006 World Cup final.
However, Brundle’s interview with the ex-pro didn’t get off to a flyer as he initially asked “Are you Marco Marriachi? Matazzi?” The former footballer remained polite, however, asking the Sky Sports man how he was before Brundle asked him if he was a big Ferrari fan and which team he played for.
Brundle then admitted he wasn’t a big football man with Materazzi replying ‘“do you like football?” He then proceeded to ask the ex-footballer, who was a guest of Ferrari, about Italy not making it to this year’s World Cup in Qatar after they suffered a shock loss to North Macedonia.
Afterwards the Sky Sports man got the sense the interview might not have gone according to plan as he muttered, “well that didn’t go well”, to the camera. It is the latest incident in Brundle’s grid-walks that have become famous over the years.
The awkward exchanges are particularly popular with fans, with one particular incident involving rapper Megan Thee Stallion at last year’s US Grand Prix garnering attention. After asking her a question on the grid her entourage turned him away with Brundle issuing a typically sassy response.
He addressed the issue on Twitter after that incident and called for F1 guests to”respect our patch” .
On the race track there was no shortage of drama during the Australian Grand Prix with Max Verstappen dropping out of the race. His Red Bull came to a halt with marshals rushing to put the fire out. Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel were also forced to retire from the race after respective crashes with Charles Leclerc dominating to take victory.
Sergio Perez came home in second with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finishing in third and fourth respectively. The result for the Silver Arrows will be another positive one considering the trouble their cars have been having in a quest for pace. The result also represented a first podium for Russell albeit in fortuitous circumstances.
