Martin Brundle tells all on how famous F1 Grid Walk began

Martin Brundle

Martin Brundle tells all on how his famous F1 Grid Walk began

Martin Brundle has been doing his F1 grid walk for almost 30 years

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 20 April 2026 13:57

Ex-F1 driver and fan-favourite Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle has revealed the origin story of how his now famous grid walks began.

Before Brundle graced our screens during grands prix weekends, he was busy taking part in them as a driver, with Tyrell, Williams, Brabham, Benetton and McLaren among the teams he raced for.

Between 1984 and 1996, the Englishman picked up nine podiums and now imparts his motorsport knowledge with on-screen punditry for Sky Sports F1.

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Though the 66-year-old is loved for his authoritative and authentic delivery, he also brings wit to the British broadcaster, and occasionally a touch or chaos thanks to his grid walks.

Sky Sports acquired the rights to Formula 1 in 2012 but secured the privilege of being the sport's exclusive live broadcaster ahead of the 2019 championship. Since then, one thing that has become a mainstay of Sky's F1 weekend coverage is Brundle's grid walks.

The ex-F1 racer has even admitted he doesn't enjoy orchestrating his famous grid interviews these days, and who can blame him when he's been involved in so many awkward celebrity interactions as a result.

But how did a former driver find himself vying for celebrity and driver attention on live TV just minutes before lights out?

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How Brundle's iconic F1 Grid Walk was born

During an interview with his Sky Sports colleague Natalie Pinkham, Brundle revealed that the grid walk segment first took place at the 1997 British Grand Prix, but he wasn't working for Sky at the time and instead delivered his now famous segment to the ITV cameras at Silverstone.

His former team-mate and 11-time grand prix winner Rubens Barrichello was his first interviewee.

"He was my team-mate the year before. That's why I probably felt he'd talk to me," Brundle explained.

"That's when drivers used to come up to me in the next year or two and go, 'You haven't spoken to me on the grid. Come and find me. Why are you not talking to me on the grid?'

"Now they just look at me like I'm a double glazing salesman or something, or an insurance salesman with his foot in the door."

Asked if he could take credit for the grid walk format, Brundle revealed: "Wasn't my idea. I was at ITV at the time, and they said to me, the producers, 'We've got an idea. Why don't you walk down the grid and say what you see?' Like, 'All right, I'll give it a go.'"

Brundle went on to explain how he began his first grid walk by delivering his piece to camera from within the cockpit, offering a rare view to ITV's audience in the days before public onboards of what an F1 driver sees when sitting down on the grid.

"That's when cars used to drive to the grid," Brundle continued. "They don't now, they stop at the back and get pushed through because Niki Lauda used to come through, cut his engine and freewheel through, which was terrifying.

"It was dangerous. So now they all come through on trolleys, and I wanted to point out to people that you sit on the floor basically. I always say it's like laying in the bath looking over the taps, is how it looks when you're in a Formula 1 car.

"And then Keith, my cameraman back in those days, put the camera over my shoulder, and I think people liked that because we didn't have many onboard cameras and all the sort of toys and tools we have today to see what the drivers are really doing, and data and what have you."

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