Martin Brundle has revealed that he is ‘terrified’ of misidentifying celebrities during his legendary grid walks for Sky Sports F1, also noting that as much as half of the famous attendees meant to be at the track each race ‘don’t show up’.
Brundle has developed a reputation for his grid walks, which first took place all the way back in 1997, and give him unrivalled access to teams, drivers and celebrities in the half-hour before the lights go out.
During an ‘ask me anything’ session with F1 fans on Reddit, Brundle was asked how he knows the names of so many celebrities on the grid before races. “So somewhere like Las Vegas, I think we had 72 people on a list of A-listers, celebrities coming on the grid, allegedly,” he explained.
“Half of them don’t show up… some do. They never look quite as they do when you google them – to be honest, never remotely like it, some of them! And it is mildly terrifying. I have got people in my ear.
“We’ve got three people talking to me about timings and who is around and what is going on generally. So I’m terrified of getting people wrong because there is a lot going on… so many people on the grid.”