Danielle Badler Rocky Mountain Region Member The answer is a resounding YES, if stories in The Washington Post and PlanetF1 are to be believed. I know, I’m shaking my head, too. Pinch me. Am I dreaming? After all these years? Well, it’s hard to argue with the scene in Austin, a few weeks back, for the only F1 Circus visit to these United States this year. Here’s how The Post described it: “an estimated 140,000 at Circuit of the Americas -contributing to a sellout crowd that reflected the growth of Formula One racing in a country that executives view as critical to the sport’s development.” The racing was great. But, to me, one of the highlights of the telecast, the Sky Sports feed on ABC/ESPN, was the return after two years of the “Gridwalk” – ex-F1 driver Martin Brundle’s trundle down the grid, microphone in hand, interviewing drivers, engineers, team principals, major domos of the sport - and Megan Thee Stallion.
tweeted afterwards, “I have felt
under pressure on the grid before but by people called Senna, Prost, Schumacher, Mansell, Piquet and so on. Bodyguards visiting the grid for the first time don’t bother me, everyone’s got a job to do, but they could maybe learn some manners and respect on our patch.” And, what do you know, according to PlanetF1, at the Mexican Grand Prix Brundle confirmed new protocols had been introduced after Austin. “Celebrities
aren’t obliged to do interviews whilst on the grid, but security entourages are now no longer allowed to accompany them on there” he said. All this has made Brundle,
a long-retired F1 campaigner in his own right, more well-known, even in this country, than any of his exploits behind the wheel. This is “Page 6” stuff! On F1! How has this happened? According to The Post, a lot of the interest is being driven, so to speak, by the success of “Drive to Survive” the multi-part Netflix documentary series that has chronicled the past three seasons of F1 in dynamic, sometimes melodramatic fashion.
What? Well, he tried to interview Megan Thee Stallion, a Houston rapper, and she seemed willing to talk. But he was curtly cut off by several, shall we say, very large men who encircled her. And, oh by the way, the same thing happened when he tried to interview Serena Williams. I know, it has nothing to do with the rac- I’ve reviewed the past three seasons of ing. But it does make for great TV, espe- “Drive” in this space. What has consistcially for the American market. ently struck me is that the series allows This is why I love the Brits. Brundle anyone to peek behind the proverbial kiVANCOUVER ISLAND — PORSCHER
December 2021 Page 24
