Martin Brundle was left in an awkward position when Oscar Piastri walked out of his grid walk interview after the Sky Sports pundit was momentarily distracted by Esteban Ocon. Brundle’s grid walks have become synonymous with F1 over the years with the former driver able to relate with the current crop.
But as well as gaining valuable insight, Brundle’s chats can often prove just how hectic and fast-moving the grid can be. Drivers are trying to get in the zone ahead of the race with celebrities, engineers and other broadcasters all packing the grid.
The Singapore Grand Prix is a different animal with drivers actually staying off the grid until the very last moment due to the humidity around the Marina Bay circuit. That forced Brundle to make a rare move and jump off the grid and into the pit lane to try and grab a word with the drivers.
He ended up standing at the entrance to the track in an attempt to speak with the drivers as they exited the pit lane. McLaren’s Piastri was the first driver who stopped to chat with Brundle, but their interview was cut short.
Brundle asked: “Bad luck in qualifying, you’ve got some work to do in the race?” Piastri began: “Yeah, we’ll try our best. See if we can…”
But Brundle then stopped Piastri in his tracks to wish Alpine driver Ocon a happy birthday. Piastri didn’t wait around as the Aussie quickly made his exit from the interview despite Brundle’s best efforts to get him back.
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“I was hoping to keep Oscar but I lost him,” Brundle said while chuckling. The Sky Sports pundit ended up getting his word in with Ocon in the end as the Frenchman thanked Brundle for his birthday message.
Brundle also managed to get a word with Max Verstappen, who failed to get out of Q2 in qualifying. Verstappen said: “We’ll try to clear some cars early. We also rely on a bit of luck throughout the race to pass cars as you need a big pace delta to pass cars round here which I don’t think we have.
“I think we will be OK but not amazing. It’s a long race, a lot of things can happen. Normally our car is better in race trim but I think we are lacking a bit in general over the whole weekend. But I hope I’m positively surprised today.”
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