Martin Brundle is set to conduct the grid walk for Sky Sports F1 at the Qatar Grand Prix this Sunday.
The Sky F1 broadcaster was not present at the last race in Las Vegas, with Jenson Button instead acting as co-commentator alongside David Croft. Button also took part in the grid walk alongside Ted Kravitz.
Brundle is contracted to work 16 of the 24 F1 races for Sky per season and, with the veteran broadcaster missing Vegas, he is set to return for the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Brundle could be interviewing the likes of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Novak Djokovic, who are all expected to be present at the Lusail International Circuit this weekend. That being said, Brundle does not always conduct a grid walk even if he is working on-site.
Lando Norris can claim his maiden championship on Sunday if he finishes the sprint race and grand prix with two or more points than his rivals Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.
Brundle, a former F1 driver himself, is known for his sometimes awkward encounters with drivers and celebrities on the grid before races, including a hilarious mix-up with Lewis Capaldi and his brother in Singapore last month.
The 66-year-old broadcaster, who was shunned by Usher in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, had a run-in with Kylian Mbappe’s bodyguard last year in Monaco, saying “I’m in charge here”, when trying to conduct an interview with the France and Real Madrid star.
In Brazil in November 2023, Brundle bumped into American rapper Machine Gun Kelly and an odd interview occurred, in which the American rapper fiddled with Brundle’s poppy, asked him to play the air guitar and put his thumb down to the camera at the end.
Brundle also briefly encountered Shaquille O’Neal in Las Vegas in 2023, with the NBA legend simply saying “Lewis Hamilton baby”.
Brundle also endured hilarious encounters with DJ Khaled and Pharrell Williams in Miami in 2022, as well as a slightly frosty exchange with Cara Delevingne at Silverstone two years ago, in which the model refused to talk to the broadcaster.
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