Martin Brundle angers Ferrari at Canadian GP by looking through engineers' legs

18 June 2023 , 17:49

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Martin Brundle crouched to look through Ferrari engineers' legs at Leclerc's car (Image: Sky Sports)

Martin Brundle left some Ferrari engineers unimpressed as he crouched to take a look at the underneath of Charles Leclerc's car.

It happened at the start of his usual grid walk prior to the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday. In the absence of celebrities on the grid, he promised viewers a more "old-school" segment.

And the Sky Sports pundit soon had plenty to talk about as he spotted the Ferrari up in the air. It was Leclerc's car being worked on with a problem on the floor being hastily fixed.

To prevent rivals from taking a look at their floor design, engineers had formed a protective ring around the car. But the intrepid Brundle still tried to take a peek as he got on his hands and knees to peer through their legs.

"We can see through here as they're taking off part of the underfloor of the cars," he told viewers as the cameraman also dropped to ground level. But they were soon clocked by a Ferrari staff member who told them to stop.

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Brundle obliged, but didn't seem thrilled about it. "I don't know why... there's nothing we can learn from that," he said, as he got back to his feet and made a beeline for team principal Frederic Vasseur.

Asked what the problem is with Leclerc's car, the Frenchman replied: "We damaged the plank on a kerb and we are changing it. We got the approval from the FIA.

"I don't know [how he did it] yet because Charles was at the top of the grid and we haven't discussed it." And, asked how he feels his drivers will get on, Vasseur was cautious about making any bold predictions.

He added: "As you know, there are two kinds of races. The first is a clean one where you can overtake, and the other is you have a DRS train and you get stuck in the traffic. But we can expect to come back."

Leclerc qualified 11th in a disappointing session on Saturday, while Carlos Sainz reach Q3 to go eighth fastest. But the Spaniard was slapped with a three-place grid penalty, which means he will now start 11th while the Monegasque rises by one place as a result.

Daniel Moxon