Martin Brundle has opened up on his relationship with Formula 1 drivers and his interactions with them during his pre-race grid walks.
Brundle, 63, raced for McLaren and Williams among other teams between 1984 and 1996, and the Briton now works for the broadcaster Sky Sports.
A pre-race ritual of sorts sees Brundle navigating the grid and speaking to as many drivers and celebrities as possible, something he discussed in an interview with GQ this week.
“They know you’ve been there, you’ve done it, you’ve seen it, you’ve crashed the car, and you’re going to ask something relevant or personal,” Brundle said.
“I never tried to dropkick them or get clever with the questions. I think that would be unfair, so it tends to be quite happy and smashy and nicey conversation. I’m not really going to be hitting them with an, ‘I heard your contract is up soon,’ or something like that. It’s going to be relevant to the race, but generally speaking they trust me.
“A few of them will just shake their head and then even apologise later on. Or some come up to me in the paddock and go, ‘You haven’t seen me on the grid for ages, just come and talk to me on the grid.’
“And then others will never talk. Lewis [Hamilton] used to talk to me a lot and then stopped. So, we take it as it comes.”
Brundle was also asked whether he ever feels reluctant to approach certain drivers or celebrities.
“I thought that about David Beckham, and then eventually I did get in his face in Miami,” Brundle said. “I was being man-marked by a couple of guys in Qatar that didn’t want anybody near him there. So, I was pretty determined to speak to him.
“And then when I did, I thought, ‘I don’t know why I bothered,’ basically. I didn’t feel good about it, particularly. I don’t like bothering people. If they don’t want to talk to you, they don’t want to talk to you. There’s plenty of people who do.
“You’ve got to remember: I’ve been on a Formula 1 grid for 38 years, well over half the life of Formula 1. I’ve been to well over half the grands prix in the history of Formula, so I feel pretty comfortable in that space. I feel it’s my territory.”
