Martin Brundle has apologised to McLaren star Oscar Piastri after an awkward gridwalk moment before the Singapore Grand Prix. The Formula One reporter blanked Piastri while wishing Esteban Ocon a happy birthday.
Sky Sports journalist Brundle is famous for his pre-race gridwalks in which he bumps into stars of both F1 and the wider celebrity community. The segments have become famed for some particularly toe-curling moments.
And perhaps the most extreme example happened in Singapore on Sunday. Brundle, a nine-time podium finisher during his own F1 career, approached Piastri for a chat.
The Australian was asked about his plans for the race and replied: “Yeah, we’ll try our best, see if we can get…”
But that was as far as Piastri got into his response before Brundle turned away. The interviewer instead began wishing a happy birthday to Alpine ace Ocon.
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Brundle then turned back to Piastri, who had long disappeared with a rueful smile. The rookie, who finished the race in seventh, jokingly offered to finish the interview at the Japanese Grand Prix next weekend, posting on X: “Shall we finish that interview in Suzuka @MBrundleF1?”
Brundle swiftly apologised, replying: “Um, yes sorry about that Oscar, wasn’t my finest gridwalk moment in 26 years. Just wanted to wish Esteban happy birthday as he strode past, but you were DRS open and full battery and quite rightly dropped me like an Aussie Rules rookie.”
It was an excellent day for McLaren, with Piastri in seventh and Lando Norris finishing second behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Norris praised the Spaniard after the pair were able to hold off Mercedes in the latter stages of the race.
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The Briton said: “Carlos was very generous trying to help me get DRS. It helped my race and also helped his. We knew it would be tough as soon as Mercedes boxed but we held them off and we’re on the podium, [I’m] super happy.”
He also revealed that he made a similar mistake to George Russell, whose race was cruelly ended after colliding with a wall. Norris admitted he had hit the same barrier.
The McLaren man said: “I hit the wall on the same lap, on the same place. I think he copied me and hit it even worse. I feel for him, he was the quickest today but it helped me a bit and I could chill during the last couple of corners. We all pushed each other the whole way. It was stressful but it paid off.”
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