Has Lewis Hamilton stopped talking to Martin Brundle during his F1 grid walks?
Legendary F1 commentator Martin Brundle has revealed that Lewis Hamilton no longer speaks to him during his iconic grid walks ahead of races
Brundle has commentated on F1 since 1997 following his retirement from the sport at the end of the previous season.
In that time, the 63-year-old has been best known for his ‘grid walk’ where he talks to drivers and celebrities ahead of the races.
Brundle is often seen interrupting conversations or getting blanked by people as he attempts to interview them on the grid.
In an interview with GQ, Brundle opened up on his relationship with various F1 drivers, including Hamilton.
“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 reflected on interviewing former England and Manchester United footballer, David Beckham.
“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 an F1 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.”
