Written by Owen Bradley, Edited by Alexandra Campos
Ah celebrities, nothing brings me more joy than watching Martin Brundle’s Grid Walk on a Sunday, especially when the race is at an American event. We always know we’re going to have great entertainment watching Martin Brundle cringe at what these famous people have to say (looking at you, James Corden).
In some ways, some may even say that Martin’s Grid Walk (particularly at the Miami GP 2022) is more entertaining than the race!
For a lot of people, I’m sure you will remember the controversy surrounding “Meghan Thee Stallion” and her bodyguards at the 2021 American Grand Prix held at Austin, Texas. For those who don’t know, essentially - Martin Brundle attempted to meet Meghan, and she seemed happy to answer any questions - however her security got in Martin’s way, and refused to let her speak.
F1 fans would genuinely give anything to be on that grid, and so to see people treat it as if they’re better than Formula 1, and like they own the grid - it certainly rubs people the wrong way.
The truth is, as big fans of Motorsport, we simply do not care if a celebrity is or isn’t attending an F1 race. Sure, some celebrities have actually added insight into their personal lives like when they began watching racing and who their biggest heroes are.
For example, some celebrities seem to have a legitimate interest in Formula 1 and racing in general. Rowan Atkinson, for instance, has been to multiple races, seems to love racing in general, and he even achieved his first podium at a Goodwood event recently.
Patrick Stewart has also made a few appearances, and was even in a documentary made about the legendary “Gentleman” of Motorsport, Sir Stirling Moss.
Ron Howard made the film “Rush” which released in 2013 - which starred Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl.
Brad Pitt and Ewan McGregor also seem to have a particular passion for MotoGP - the pair have done narration for the Mark Neale films: “Faster”, “Fastest” and “Hitting the Apex”.
However, what very much grinds our gears, is that some celebrities will attend F1 races - they’ll be on the grid, yet they refuse to give people like Martin Brundle, any time whatsoever.
This has led to some of the funniest clips ever, as Brundle responds to their cold shoulders with a one-liner or two.
Some celebrities are clearly there to promote their social media, hang out with their other celebrity friends, and they use it as a marketing tool - which definitely makes fans of F1 frustrated, as there are millions of people who would love to be on the grid, or even just at an F1 race - yet these celebrities seem like they couldn’t care less about F1.
Who could ever forget David Coulthard’s legendary line about Christina Aguilera “Faking an Interest in Formula 1”.
So, whilst I’ve raised some points, it would seem quite shallow of me to not at least offer some solutions - and here’s a fun one.
If you’re a celebrity, perhaps you have to answer questions about Formula 1 over the last 10 years, if you fail - you’re not allowed in.
Of course, I am joking - however perhaps we need to tell celebrities that if you are on the grid, then prepare to actually speak, as it doesn’t look good for them, and it only frustrates F1 fans as we feel our time is being wasted - time which in the UK, we now must pay for with Sky Sports.
So, as a message to these Celebrities: prepare to answer questions by the Brundle, otherwise face the wrath of teenagers with too much time on their hands writing articles and making memes about you!
If you’d like to give me any feedback - or just talk pure racing, then please leave a comment below, or you could get in contact by following my Instagram:
And if you’d like to check out a video I made on YouTube, about the F1 2021 Season, then follow this link:
Finally - be sure to check out the first episode of the Divebomb Power Rankings Podcast: