Martin Brundle shuts down Michael McIntyre request live on F1 Monaco GP grid
Comedian Michael McIntyre was among those interviewed live by Martin Brundle on his popular grid walk segment during the Sky Sports coverage of the F1 Monaco Grand Prix
Martin Brundle is used to being rejected on his Formula 1 grid walks. But he was the one left saying no ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix when he received a request from Michael McIntyre during an interview.
The British comedian was one of several people who stopped for an interview with Brundle in the build up to the F1 race. And the Sky Sports pundit started the conversation by telling McIntyre that BBC executives had been trying to get him to appear on his quiz show, Michael McIntyre's The Wheel.
But Brundle has not been able to accept that request. And it sparked a hilarious moment as McIntyre quickly picked up on the fact that the former F1 driver was not able to immediately recall the name of his show.
"Your people invited me onto your show with the circle," said Brundle. And the comedian responded, laughing: "The show with the circle? It's called The Wheel! I think a Formula 1 driver should know what a wheel is. That is not a circle, it's called a wheel."
McIntyre then asked: "Why don't you come on The Wheel?" And Brundle pointed to his jam-packed F1 schedule as he replied: "Because I can't do it, it's in June. I've got to do some other things, but one day I will."
There were plenty of famous faces dotted along the Monaco grid, which remains the 'Crown Jewel' of F1 events. Among those to stop for a word with Brundle during his grid walk were supermodel Naomi Campbell and legendary former West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle.
But the most awkward moment other than his chat with McIntyre came when he had a chat with Christian Horner. The Red Bull team principal seemed irked by Brundle's question when the Sky pundit asked if they plan to use the drivers from sister team Racing Bulls to help Max Verstappen during the race.
"We're thinking some teams may use one car to great a gap, have you effectively got four cars on the grid to play that game with?" asked Brundle. And Horner wore a smirk as he snapped back: "Why on earth would you think that, Martin?"
Undeterred, Brundle continued: "I think that's what you might be thinking. You've got [Isack] Hadjar and [Liam] Lawson in a really good place here." And that was when Horner came back with a proper response, denying that he had any plans to use the Racing Bulls cars to help his own.
He said: "Racing Bulls are running their own race, they're in a great position. Isack did a great job, Liam as well yesterday. But we're focus on our own race. Yuki is a bit far out of touch to have much of an influence, so it's more down to safety cars and what the others do."
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