Last weekend we had the chance to witness an extraordinary Formula One race at the Austin Circuit in Texas on the occasion of the United States GP. Today’s two greatest F1 drivers went head-to-head at a strategic moment in the championship, in an attempt to deal a moral blow to the other on their battle for the season’s title. 

In the end, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen came out on top thanks to his team’s strategic decisions. The Dutch driver also gave one of his finest performances with great tire management, maturity and nerves of steel, and didn’t succumb to the relentless pressure of his opponent, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). The two drivers, who are set to go down in history for their passionate rivalry, saw the checkered flag just 1.3 seconds apart. 

Before the race, however, fans had a chance to see another, much less edifying, type of show starring another kind of celebrity. Before the pandemic arrived to disturb many long-standing F1 traditions, some VIP guests were allowed to wander the grid minutes before the start of the races. 

It was therefore common to see popular faces among the swarm of mechanics, drivers and ‘parked’ cars ahead of the traffic lights going out. Formula One notoriously attracts a good number of businessmen, millionaires and other more or less well-known celebrities. The grid has always been a true vanity catwalk and a good place to be seen. That “tradition” returned last Sunday at the Circuit of The Americas. 

Megan Thee Stallion´s incicent

The behaviour of some stars, however, has not been exemplary, to say the least. Disregarding basic manners and driven by their usual snobbery, these have shown little respect for the work of certain information professionals. 

One of the accidental victims of this lack of manners was Martin Brundle. In case some readers don’t know, Brundle is an award-winning British Formula 1 commentator and former F1 driver between 1984 and 1996, with 158 GPs under his belt. 

The former pilot suffered the snobbery of singer Megan Thee Stallion and her entourage in the first person. The reporter approached the artist, who was doing his usual pre-race segment among the cars, and asked her if she had any rap prepared today for Formula 1, to which she gave a dry and contemptuous: “I have no rap today, I’m sorry”. 

Brundle then went on to ask her which driver she would be supporting in the race, but he couldn’t listen to the artist’s answer as a member of her security team intervened rudely. In that awkward moment, the commentator stated: “I think she’s happy… OK, boss!” 

But things didn’t end there. Seconds later, another ‘bodyguard’ bluntly brushed Brundle away, saying: “you can’t do that”, meaning he couldn’t hold the microphone close to the star. Brundle, visibly annoyed, blurted out that he could do it because he had already done it. 

The incident was captured on camera and soon was being shared on social networks where fans of the sport criticized such inappropriate behaviour. Moreover, they urged organizers to simply not invite people who would refuse to be interviewed on F1-related topics. 

https://twitter.com/MBrundleF1/status/1452665203598974979

Images:  Megan Thee Stallion Instagram.