Martin Brundle has responded after his awkward grid walk at the Miami Grand Prix went viral for all the wrong reasons.

The former F1 driver turned respected Sky Sports commentator put viewers through 10 minutes of torment as he walked along the grid talking to celebrity guests out on the track before the start of the race. He was able to get through some small talk with pop star Pharrell Williams and DJ Khaled but in between there were a stack of awkward moments when he hit up unsuspecting celebrities and put the microphone in their faces.

The scenes sent social media into overdrive and Brundle had a philosophical take on his customary pre-race role after Max Verstappen won Miami’s first GP.

“There’s a reason why I’ve never watched back an F1 grid walk in a quarter of a century of doing them,” he tweeted.

“You have no idea how much I dislike doing them but somehow those crazy moments have defined my professional career.

“Oh well, that’s the way it is.”

Brundle’s attempt to talk to Serena Williams on Monday morning went awfully. The tennis legend has twice previously snubbed Brundle during his track walk, including last year at the US Grand Prix in Texas, and she escaped again in Miami, but only by hiding behind her sister Venus.

“Serena what do you think about having this event in Miami,” he said before Venus fielded the question. Venus responded: “We love having Lewis (Hamilton) and all the drivers in Miami, we’re wishing them luck. It’s the first time they’ve been here.”

When she went to wave at somebody nearby, she appeared to think it was the end of the interview. She was wrong.

 

“Oh, what’s the question,” she asked when she saw Brundle was still standing next to her.

“No, it doesn’t really matter. It’s nice to talk to you actually,” he said.

As she walked away, Brundle told the audience: “Well that was a nice surprise, I normally get a very cold shoulder”.

His incident with Serena Williams and Megan Thee Stallion made headlines around the world in October. While his Monday effort wasn’t as brutal, it was just as cringe.

Brundle also butchered a moment when given a chance to interview American college basketballer Paolo Banchero on the run. The problem was Brundle appeared to think the Duke basketballer was Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

He called out “Patrick” before later realising he was in fact interviewing Banchero.

“It’s not Patrick, that’s why he ignored me,” he said to the Sky Sports camera.

“What is your name, sir?” he then asked, adding: “Well I thought I was talking to somebody else, I’m sorry about that.”

The brutal social media reaction was enough for Martin Brundle to be one of the top trending terms on Twitter in the United States.

The worst part is he could tell it was always going to end this way before he even walked up to talk to the Williams sisters.

“I’m not terrified at all. Hold tight. This grid walk is either going to be interesting or a total car crash,” he said.

“I don’t know if I can stand the rejection here to be honest. I don’t know if I can stand the rejection. But I’ll do this for you.”