"This grid walk is going to be mildly interesting or a total car crash," Martin Brundle told Sky Sports viewers ahead of the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday. His meeting with Paolo Banchero made it the latter.
On his walk through a grid packed with celebrities, Brundle thought he was interviewing NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes when it was actually NBA prospect Banchero.
"There's a guy called Patrick Mahomes on the grid who is a bit of a sporting legend out here," Brundle said as he chased Banchero.
"Patrick, Martin Brundle for Formula One television in England - I don't think he can hear me up there."
Though confused, Banchero played along. "This is crazy, I've never been to an F1 race," he said.
"This is spectacular. You can see [the drivers] are locked in, it reminds me of myself - real focused."
Someone eventually had a word in Brundle's ear to inform him that it was not Mahomes to whom he was speaking. Banchero, a 6' 10" power forward who played college basketball with Duke, is likely to be a top three pick in this summer's NBA draft.
"I thought I was talking to someone else, sorry about that," Brundle told Banchero.
"A little bit of misinformation in the ears there, but it doesn't matter, we got to talk to him anyway."
Brundle later said on Twitter: "There’s a reason why I’ve never watched back an F1 gridwalk in a quarter of a century of doing them. You have no idea how much I dislike doing them but somehow those crazy moments have defined my professional career. Oh well, that’s the way it is."
Thank goodness for British humour. Martin Brundle making the most of this cringe grid walk. #SkyF1 #martinbrundle #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/Y0W6Jea6U4
— Zach (@hughietheliger) May 8, 2022
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