'Scary' David Beckham incident that left Martin Brundle shaken up at F1 race

Daily Mirror

5 hours ago

Martin Brundle has interviewed a host of celebrities during his time on the F1 grid, but there have been few incidents that have left him feeling as shaken as when he tried to talk to David Beckham
Martin Brundle has opened up about a "scary" encounter he had when he tried to interview David Beckham during one of his famous F1 grid walks. The Sky Sports commentator has been a part of the motorsport world for over four decades.
As both a driver and broadcaster, Brundle is a respected figure in the sport. However, the current generation of F1 fans may best know him for his pre-race grid walks, where he chats with celebrities and other stars on the grid.
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Over the years, Brundle has had engaging conversations with some of the biggest names in showbiz and sport on the grid. However, not all have been keen to chat with the 66-year-old, leading to some less-than-stellar interviews.
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One such instance involved Manchester United legend Beckham, whom Brundle bumped into at the Miami Grand Prix in 2022. The ex-England skipper, who is now the co-owner of MLS team Inter Miami, was attending his local Grand Prix.
After spotting him, Brundle made a beeline to grab a quick word with the football superstar. Although he managed to briefly discuss F1's presence in Florida, Brundle later admitted that he was not sure why he bothered.
However, it appears he was more determined to speak to the former free-kick specialist, having failed to get a word with him at the Qatar GP that year. At the time, Beckham had accepted a multi-million-pound deal to be a paid ambassador for the Qatar World Cup.
Beckham was on the grid at the same time as Brundle, but he was far from alone. The Sky Sports reporter told SPORTbible:"I was in Qatar trying to speak to David Beckham and there were two guys man-marking me.
"Wherever I went, they were just looking at me! They did not want me to talk to David Beckham on that grid; the World Cup was coming up, wasn't it? That was a little bit scary.
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"They were literally on the grid to stop me. So, I went round the back of [Lewis] Hamilton's car, and they went round the front and kind of just looked at me. That was a little bit odd."
In a subsequent interview with GQ Magazine, Brundle was notably critical about his brief interaction with Beckham. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the grid walk and numerous celebrity guests, he maintained that it is still his domain.
Brundle said: "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 are plenty of people who do.
"You've got to remember I've been on a F1 grid for 38 years, well over half the life of Formula 1. I've been to well over half of the grands prix in the history of Formula 1, so I feel pretty comfortable in that space – I feel it's my territory."