Martin Brundle’s ‘car crash television’ as Monaco Grand Prix prank emerges

Martin Brundle offered an intriguing insight into his iconic Grid Walk segment and the behind-the-scenes work which makes it tick – and on the flip side, obstacles like someone switching his radio off!

After an F1 career which saw Brundle reach the podium nine times, the Brit transitioned into F1 commentary and punditry work, becoming an iconic voice in the sport and synonymous with his ‘Grid Walk’ segment, where he is unleashed onto the pre-race grid, armed with a microphone and unscripted to see who he can grab a chat with.

Martin Brundle suffered Monaco Grid Walk prank

And as part of an AMA session on Reddit, Sky F1 pundit Brundle filled in some of the background on how his Grid Walk works after being asked how many people come through his earpiece guiding the segment.

“So, I have three people in my ear – can’t always hear them,” said Brundle.

That is especially true when someone decides to silence his radio.

“Somebody once switched my radio off, that’s on my belt behind me because they thought it was funny on the grid in Monaco, and I heard absolutely nobody,” Brundle continued.

“So I try to just see people out of the corner of my eye and trip over – it’s car crash television on the grid. I don’t know what’s going to happen next and I think the feedback I get is people quite like the chaos of that.

“Fundamentally, yeah, three people are talking to me about timings and who’s where and what might well happen next, but, I try to wing it as much as I can!”

Brundle has come across some memorable interviewees over the years, the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Megan Thee Stallion and Machine Gun Kelly coming to mind.

But, as for his personal favourite, that was speaking to Mika Hakkinen shortly before he drove to World Championship glory at Suzuka.

“Well, Ozzy Osborne was hilarious back in the day in Canada. Kimi Raikkonen was quite rude – not to me, but in the word that he chose on the grid in Brazil once, but very funny,” Brundle reflected.

“Obviously I’ve been knocked about by a few security guards and things like that, but generally, I just love talking to people on the grid. It’s a unique experience and opportunity, and the atmosphere, the energy that’s going on down there and then to to share that with the drivers, the teams, and all sorts of people.

“So, mostly I love talking to the drivers on the grid. Probably the best moment was talking to Mika Häkkinen, literally as he’s putting his balaclava on, he’s on the front of the grid, Suzuki, and I’m saying to him, ‘can you win the World Championship Mika?’ And he goes, ‘yes, I can’. Down it goes, gets in the car, becomes World Champion 90 minutes later.

“And I just love that access when everybody’s full of adrenaline.”

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Formula 1’s ever-expanding popularity has seen a growing list of celebrities show up on the grid for Brundle to chat with, so he was asked whether he goes into those impromptu chats armed with his own knowledge, or if he is fed the information?

It turns out to be a combination, though it does not always go to plan. Mistaking NBA star Paolo Banchero for Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix was a particularly hilarious example.

“So somewhere like Las Vegas, I think we had 72 people on a list of A-listers celebrities coming on the grid, allegedly,” said Brundle. “Half of them don’t show up. Some do.

“They never look quite as they do when you Google them, to be honest. Never remotely like it, some of them.

“And it is mildly terrifying.

“I have got people in my ear. We’ve got three people talking to me about timings and who’s around and what’s going on generally. So I’m terrified of getting people wrong because there’s a lot going on, there’s so many people on the grid, you can’t see the wood for the trees.

“I sometimes don’t even know where I am on the grid or in fact, quite often because I can’t even see a racing car!

“There are so many people, so it’s a combination of people I know, people I’ve read up about the hour before I go on the grid and what’s going on in my head, and a little bit of luck, really. And as you know, I get it wrong every so often!”

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