Martin Brundle reflected on an F1 grid interview with football icon David Beckham which turned “a little bit scary”.
The incident in question occurred on the grid ahead of the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, Brundle attempting to grab a word with Beckham, only he had “two guys man-marking me” to try make sure he was unsuccessful.
Martin Brundle found David Beckham’s crew ‘a bit scary’
Brundle has become synonymous with his grid walk segment since transitioning from F1 driver to pundit, as he wanders the pre-race Formula 1 grid with a live microphone, looking for a chat with drivers, F1 figures and celebrities.
Brundle had previous with Beckham by the point he got to the 2022 Miami Grand Prix – where Beckham appeared on the grid – so Brundle decided it was time to get “pushy” as he worked his way through the people to make it to the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain player, at which point Brundle was snubbed.
“That’s the second time he’s blanked me!” Brundle lamented.
The first time was at the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, and speaking with SPORTbible, Brundle recalled how that experience left him rather shaken up.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup took place in Qatar, football’s flagship tournament for which Beckham served as an ambassador.
“I was in Qatar trying to speak to David Beckham and there were two guys man-marking me,” Brundle said.
“Wherever I went, they were just looking at me! They did not want me to talk to David Beckham on that grid. The World Cup was coming up, wasn’t it?
“That was a little bit scary because they were literally on the grid to stop me. So, I went round the back of [Lewis] Hamilton’s car, and they went round the front and kind of just looked at me. That was a little bit odd.”
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Brundle did not complete the hat-trick, as he was ultimately successful in getting his chat with Beckham on his third attempt – and second of the 2022 Miami Grand Prix – achieving a general assessment of Miami’s sportiness as a town, and a “we’ll see” when asked who he thought would win the race.
That ultimately proved to be Max Verstappen, who took the chequered flag ahead of Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in the first edition of the Miami Grand Prix.
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