F1's famous grid walk descended into chaos in Miami as a star interviewer mistook a college basketball star for Patrick Mahomes, then got blanked by David Beckham
- The grid walk is one of the most entertaining features of any Formula One Grand Prix.
- This was especially true at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix as interviewer Martin Brundle cut loose.
Formula One reporter Martin Brundle was blanked by David Beckham, mistook an NBA youngster for Patrick Mahomes on a crazy grid walk at the Miami Grand Prix.
Brundle, 62, is well known for walks along the grid preceding F1 races interviewing racers and and team bosses.
While he normally focuses on the upcoming race, at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix Sunday, the Sky Sports reporter found himself among a melee of celebrities including musicians and sports stars like David Beckham, Serena Williams, and DJ Khaled.
He did his best to speak to everyone, but it did not go entirely to plan. "This grid walk is either gonna be mildly interesting, or a total car crash. Let's dive straight in," Brundle told viewers.
In the end it was a bit of both.
After his grid walk started on familiar terms with an interview with F1 legend Mario Andretti and McLaren team boss Zak Brown, ex-racer Brundle moved on to speak to tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams.
"Really good to see you two on the grid again, are you cheering for Lewis [Hamilton]?" he asked Venus, to which initially did not respond, choosing instead to say hello to rapper DJ Khaled.
Following a brief exchange, Brundle concluded by saying, "That was a nice surprise wasn't it? I normally get a very, very cold shoulder."
Brundle then approached DJ Khaled, before spotting "Patrick Mahomes," and heading in his direction. Brundle had actually spotted Paolo Banchero, a Duke basketball star expected to be taken as one of the first picks in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Banchero is around seven inches taller than the Chiefs quarterback, and his only real resemblance to Mahomes is a vaguely similar hairstyle.
"Patrick, how are you?" he asked Banchero. "What do you think of this atmosphere?"
"This is crazy. I've never been to an F1 race so this is spectacular," Banchero replied. "'You can see, they're locked in. It reminds me of myself."
Brundle then realized he wasn't speaking to Mahomes.
"What is your name, sir?" he then asked Banchero. "Well I thought I was talking to somebody else, I'm sorry about that."
Banchero saw the funny side, sharing footage of the exchange on Twitter, to which Mahomes replied saying: "Bro ain't no way."
Despite not being interviewed on the grid, Mahomes was at the Miami Grand Prix, posting several Instagram stories from the race.
Brundle next moved on to talk, albeit briefly, to a number of high profile names including musician Pharrell Williams and F1 driver Lance Stroll, before spotting Beckham from afar.
"There is a melee around him so we'll have to get quite pushy!" he said as he tried to approach the Inter Miami owner.
"David, Martin Brundle, Sky!" he said to Beckham, only to be ignored. "David have you got a minute for us? That's the second time he's blanked me."
Fortunately for Brundle, he did then manage to speak to Beckham and asked him about the event in Miami.
"It's amazing, it's what Miami does best," said Beckham, who is a part owner of the Inter Miami MLS team. "It's a sporting town, an entertainment town and I think today is incredible, it's going to be amazing."
You can see the full 15-minutes of Brundle's grid walk below:
Awkwardness aside, Brundle's Miami grid walk was more successful than his last outing in the US at the 2021 US Grand Prix in Austin.
During that grid walk, Brundle got into an altercation with rapper Megan Thee Stallion's security team after asking her to rap for him.
Red Bull's reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen came out on top in Miami's first ever Grand Prix, ahead of current championship leader Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, who finished second.
Leclerc's Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz finished third, while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton came sixth.