Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle has had plenty of cringe-worthy interviews over the years while on his F1 grid walk. He can add Saturday’s brief chat with the NBA on TNT’s Shaquille O’Neal to his list.
The broadcaster was doing his usual pre-race walk before the Las Vegas Grand Prix at a temporary street circuit, including parts of the Las Vegas Strip, when he came across the larger-than-life figure.
As Brian Floyd hilariously pointed out on X, Brundle got a lesson in how Shaq, who’s listed as one of many celebrity plaintiffs in the $1 billion class-action lawsuit over their alleged roles in pushing the fraudulent cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, has been able to dodge being served subpoenas for well over a year.
Shaq, who has had plenty of terrific moments on live television, added another one with Brundle.
After spending nearly five full minutes trying to speak with the NBA Hall of Famer, who was posing for photos with the Red Bull Racing staff, O’Neal finally made his way over to Brundle and his microphone. Well, sort of.
“Sir, thank you for coming to have a chat with [us],” Brundle said. “How are you doing?”
O’Neal was not interested in having a quick chit-chat with the former racing driver, who has been with Sky Sports for over a decade now. But, he still offered a word of something, which in turn was better than nothing.
“Lewis Hamilton, baby,” quipped Shaq.
Shaq: "Lewis Hamilton, baby" pic.twitter.com/j127bMdEeV
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) November 19, 2023
Brundle, who has a knack for these painfully awkward interviews, responded as only he could.
“OK, well there, there you go,” said Brundle. “That’s all you need to say. ‘Lewis Hamilton, baby.’ That’ll cover it…Yeah, it’s OK. Well, I’ve had a great television career. So, honestly, it doesn’t really matter, does it?”
Brundle seemed to regret wasting his long microphone cable on Shaq, and here was thinking he ought to call it a career after that encounter. While we are thankful for the chaos and the sheer entertainment value created by this moment, there are few people — Shaq among them — who could get away with snubbing Brundle, offering a three-word phrase instead.
Suppose this is how Brundle felt after his brief brush with O’Neal. In that case, we are left only wondering what Brundle was thinking after his encounter with Machine Gun Kelly earlier this month before the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.
