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Martin Brundle had been off Sky Sports screens for most of the 2026 Formula 1 season. Across the opening three race weekends of the championship, he appeared for just oncee, going missing from the broadcast ever since the Australian Grand Prix in March.
Miami was his comeback. It delivered.
The grid walk has long been must-see pre-race television – roughly 15 minutes of loosely controlled chaos as the former F1 driver, microphone in hand, hunts for willing interviewees among the grid’s celebritytraffic.
In Florida, that celebrity traffic tends to be especially dense. This year, one of the people walking that grid was Jimmy Fallon, wearing a white Prada shirt and sunglasses, apparently just as excited to find Brundle as Brundle’s viewers were to have him back.
Fallon spotted the Sky Sports broadcaster mid-walk and approached him immediately.
“Martin Brundle! Are you lost too? What do you need? Can I get anything for you?” Brundle, holding his signature blue Sky Sports microphone, replied that he needed “funny lines,” “everything,” and a “cup of British tea.” Fallon’s response was to grab the microphone, lean in, and bite down hard on the foam cover while making growling noises, as a lower-third graphic appeared on screen identifying him as “Jimmy Fallon, American Talk Show Host.” In case there was any ambiguity about what just happened.
After releasing it, Fallon laughed and asked “what do we do here?”, then told Brundle he was “the best.” The former racing driver, with the timing of someone who has spent decades doing live television, offered to let Fallon keep the microphone now that he’d bitten it.
The clip spread with it quickly going viral as Fallon’s enthusiasm was appreciated by fans.
Brundle is the highlight of a grand prix Sunday for many UK viewers, and it’s his grid walks specifically that have become the focal point of the F1 weekend for a large portion of the audience.
Encounters that would be awkward anywhere else – Brad Pitt trying to dodge him, Mariah Carey saying no, a long monologue from DJ Khaled – become appointment television. A late-night host gnawing on a microphone fits right in.
Brundle is contracted for 16 of the 22 race weekends this season, the result of Sky’s rotating pundit approach that also features Nico Rosberg, Jacques Villeneuve, and Jenson Button. His Sky colleagues haven’t quite been able to replicate the same on-screen results when tasked with the celebrity interviews on weekends he’s been away.
Some broadcasters are simply irreplaceable in the role they’ve carved out, even when – especially when – the role involves a talk show host treating your equipment like a chew toy.
Continue reading...
Miami was his comeback. It delivered.
The grid walk has long been must-see pre-race television – roughly 15 minutes of loosely controlled chaos as the former F1 driver, microphone in hand, hunts for willing interviewees among the grid’s celebritytraffic.
In Florida, that celebrity traffic tends to be especially dense. This year, one of the people walking that grid was Jimmy Fallon, wearing a white Prada shirt and sunglasses, apparently just as excited to find Brundle as Brundle’s viewers were to have him back.
Fallon spotted the Sky Sports broadcaster mid-walk and approached him immediately.
“Martin Brundle! Are you lost too? What do you need? Can I get anything for you?” Brundle, holding his signature blue Sky Sports microphone, replied that he needed “funny lines,” “everything,” and a “cup of British tea.” Fallon’s response was to grab the microphone, lean in, and bite down hard on the foam cover while making growling noises, as a lower-third graphic appeared on screen identifying him as “Jimmy Fallon, American Talk Show Host.” In case there was any ambiguity about what just happened.
Brundle Offered Him the Microphone as a Parting Gift
After releasing it, Fallon laughed and asked “what do we do here?”, then told Brundle he was “the best.” The former racing driver, with the timing of someone who has spent decades doing live television, offered to let Fallon keep the microphone now that he’d bitten it.
The clip spread with it quickly going viral as Fallon’s enthusiasm was appreciated by fans.
Brundle is the highlight of a grand prix Sunday for many UK viewers, and it’s his grid walks specifically that have become the focal point of the F1 weekend for a large portion of the audience.
Encounters that would be awkward anywhere else – Brad Pitt trying to dodge him, Mariah Carey saying no, a long monologue from DJ Khaled – become appointment television. A late-night host gnawing on a microphone fits right in.
Brundle is contracted for 16 of the 22 race weekends this season, the result of Sky’s rotating pundit approach that also features Nico Rosberg, Jacques Villeneuve, and Jenson Button. His Sky colleagues haven’t quite been able to replicate the same on-screen results when tasked with the celebrity interviews on weekends he’s been away.
Some broadcasters are simply irreplaceable in the role they’ve carved out, even when – especially when – the role involves a talk show host treating your equipment like a chew toy.
Continue reading...
