19 November 2023 , 05:45
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Shaquille O'Neal was one of several celebrities who Martin Brundle struggled to speak to on a difficult grid walk for the broadcaster at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Brundle was not short of celebrities on the star-studded grid. But there were so many people milling about that the Sky Sports presenter struggled to recognise many of them as they filed past.
He spent a full minute trying to speak to former basketball star Shaq who was posing with Red Bull staff including Christian Horner for photos. But when Brundle did eventually capture the attention of the American giant, he only got three words out of him
" Lewis Hamilton, baby," he shouted after glancing at Brundle, before walking off. Brundle couldn't help but giggle at himself after an 'interview' which went about as well as the rest of his grid walk.
Brundle did manage to speak to some stars, including British actor David Oyelowo, American rapper Will.I.Am and Aussie songstress Kylie Minogue. But others proved difficult to get hold of, while there were plenty of examples of the presenter walking past some famous faces.
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Fans on social media were begging Brundle to turn around at one point as he ambled straight past ex-footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He was trying to get the attention of DJ Steve Aoki instead, but ended up having to settle for a quick word with Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur at first.
Eventually he was alerted to Ibrahimovic's presence and managed to grab 30 seconds with the Swede. It was more polite conversation than an interview, though the former football star did reveal that he supports Ferrari when it comes to Formula 1.
Brundle, always happy to laugh at himself, wondered aloud if it was going to mean the end of his career after the O'Neal snub. But fans on social media loved the effort the Sky Sports favourite was putting in, even if it was not bearing fruit on this occasion.
"The Martin Brundle grid walk is pure chaos every time, but always has a couple of incredible moments," wrote one. Another said: "It is a crime that nobody in the grid walk knows who Martin Brundle is."
A third observed: "Martin Brundle has absolutely no idea who Zlatan Ibrahimovic is and it's fantastic." And many more noted the fact that, one one point on his action-packed grid walk, Brundle had wondered aloud: "How did all these people get grid passes?"