Sky Sports F1 legend Martin Brundle requests police escort ahead of Brazilian GP

Martin Brundle

Sky Sports F1 legend Martin Brundle requests police escort ahead of Brazilian GP

Martin Brundle will be back in Brazil

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 31 October 2025 18:56

Sky Sports F1 pundit and presenter Martin Brundle requested a police escort for the Brazilian Grand Prix after his colleagues received support from the local authorities in Mexico.

The F1 legend was absent from Sky’s coverage of the Mexican GP, where he opted to take one of his scheduled absences in 2025, contracted to work 16 race weekends this season.

During an appearance on the Sky Sports F1 podcast after Mexico, Brundle’s colleague Simon Lazenby revealed the team received a police escort in Mexico City to help navigate the traffic.

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“Martin we missed you out there [in Mexico] two words though… police escort, and therefore we were able to navigate that Mexico City traffic in a, well, navigable manner,” Lazenby explained.

Brundle then placed a request for a police escort to aid the team once again in Brazil, and said: “Perfect, good.

“That’s on the agenda for all the future Mexican Grands Prix and we need it in Brazil as well.”

Lazenby then replied: “Yeah ok, I’ll get on the phone to the Brazilian police, but it definitely helped us.”

Brazilian GP safety

While Brundle and Sky were referring to logistical issues on the podcast, F1 teams and personnel have faced security concerns over the years at the Brazilian GP.

In 2017, a minibus containing Mercedes team members were robbed at gunpoint after leaving the circuit following Friday’s practice. Nobody was injured, but valuables were stolen during the attack.

The same weekend F1’s tyre supplier Pirelli confirmed members of their team were also involved in an attempted robbery, with Pirelli and McLaren cancelling a test event at Interlagos due to safety concerns.

Vehicles containing personnel from Williams and the FIA were also targeted the same weekend, with Sauber officials narrowly avoiding a robbery as well.

Following the respective incidents in 2017, the FIA released a statement highlighting their commitment to safety. They said: “the FIA will seek to work closely with Formula 1 and all its stakeholders to maintain a safe environment for everyone working at or visiting Formula 1 events."

F1 Martin Brundle Brazilian Grand Prix