Celebrities Don’t Owe Martin Brundle Or Formula 1 Anything

Ahead of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix this weekend, Martin Brundle approached model and actress Cara Delevingne on the grid for an interview. The PR handler next to her subtly tried to decline the conversation with Brundle, but the Sky F1 TV pundit pressed on. Delevingne was forced to decline the interview herself, all while Brundle told her that she wasn’t allowed to say no. It was a frankly disturbing scene, but F1 fans on the internet seem to thing Delevingne was in the wrong, but she’s not. No one, not even a celebrity standing on the grid before the race, owes Brundle — or Formula 1 — anything.

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There’s a lot of loaded context behind the current Brundle kerfuffle. As F1 has grown in popularity, more celebrities have begun to pop up in the paddock and on the pre-race grid, and as a result, Brundle has begun adding them to his slate of grid walk interviews. The problem is that it hasn’t been going well.

In 2021, for example, Brundle approached Megan Thee Stallion on the grid for the United States Grand Prix to ask she “rap” for him. When she declined, he tried to ask additional questions before Megan Thee Stallion’s bodyguard stepped in. That resulted in the formation of the “Brundle clause,” which now forbids bodyguards from the F1 pre-race grid in order to make it slightly easier for Brundle to approach someone.

And that’s not the only time Brundle has been rebuffed. At that same race, both Ben Stiller and Serena Williams declined to speak to Brundle before he approached Megan Thee Stallion. At the 2022 Miami Grand Prix, Brundle even confused Paolo Banchero and Patrick Mahomes.

Brundle — and plenty of F1 fans at home — seem to think that Delevingne somehow owes Brundle an interview thanks to that clause, but that isn’t the case. In fact, the Brundle clause actually only means that bodyguards aren’t allowed on the grid before the race anymore. It doesn’t forbid PR handlers, and it certainly doesn’t forbid a celebrity from declining an interview. Every VIP, just like all of the F1 personnel, have the right to decline an interview before the race. The Brundle clause merely removes one barrier from Brundle and his interviewee.

And, as an aside, Delevingne took to Twitter after the debacle to clarify that she had been told by an F1 representative to decline the interview.

It isn’t surprising that the latest Brundle vs. Celebrity nonsense has touched on some nerves. Formula 1 is finding itself facing a situation it hasn’t yet endured in the social media era: rapid growth. Fans from around the world are flocking to F1 for the first time thanks to the influence of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, and that has resulted in old fans butting heads with the new.

Many of the social media arguments regarding Brundle’s grid walks have stemmed from a place of insecurity. People argue that celebrities don’t deserve to be on the grid until they can pass some kind of test about F1 to prove that they have earned a place. People say that longtime fans deserve those grid places more than a celebrity. People say they would be honored to speak to Brundle, and it’s inappropriate for anyone to decline an interview. People say that celebrities have signed up for a life in the spotlight and therefore deserve to be thrust into it at all times for our pleasure.

And much of that comes down to the fact that longtime F1 fans have begun to see that F1 is prioritizing a different set of people than them. New grands prix in Las Vegas and Miami have priced out the Average Joe, with these events seemingly designed exclusively for the multimillionaires that can afford a $100,000 ticket package. At the same time, shifting demographics have seen a younger, more diverse crowd flocking to F1, resulting in new focuses for marketing and new values for the sport. If a longtime fan feels left behind, then it’s understandable why that’s happening.

But that doesn’t mean celebrities or newer fans deserve to be policed by longtime fans. They don’t deserve to be forced to participate in the F1 circus as we traditionally understand it, because times have changed. The desire to see these newer participants in the F1 sphere cowing down to tradition is not just inappropriate, but it’s actively harmful to the continued growth of the sport.

That’s not even touching on the fact that it is simply unprofessional. As a journalist, I’m aware that any potential interview subject could say ‘no’ to my interview request, or could change their mind about participating partway through the interview. That isn’t outside the realm of possibility, and it is an appropriate — albeit frustrating — decision. But the process of interviewing someone is a delicate balance of both parties’ interests, held together by the glue of consent. If one party believes their interests won’t be adequately represented in an interview, they have the right to decline or end the conversation.

Of course, Delevingne wasn’t being asked to bare her soul on international television, and a 30-second interview to gush about the sport likely would have been easy. But she said no.

The thing many people are overlooking is that it would have been just as easy for Brundle to move on. He saw Delevingne’s PR handler decline the interview. He saw Delevingne herself back away. He pressed her anyway, pushing through a crowd to tell her that “the deal is, everyone has to speak now.” Then, when she claims she can’t hear anything, Brundle responds with sarcasm: “Well, I’m sure it would have been extremely interesting.”

The fact that this battle between Brundle and celebrities continues to happen should be a wake-up call for Sky. It wouldn’t be terribly difficult for the broadcaster to sign on another staffer who makes their way up the grid ahead of Brundle, finding the celebrities who do want to talk. Perhaps some of the quirkiness of a random interview would be lost, but the times in F1 are changing, and that also means protocol should be upgraded in response. There is no reason why a presenter should actively violate someone’s boundaries on an international stage, and there is no reason for fans to assume that F1 is more important than that celebrity’s requests. Especially from a presenter who has historically failed to respect boundaries and who has showed such little concern for his subjects that he has called them by the wrong name, demanded they perform for him, and spoken ill of them when they decline.

It’s a bad look for F1, but the Brundle vs. Delevingne battle on Sunday has also forced fans and series personnel to acknowledge that they’ll have to adapt to this new era of F1 or be left behind — and that prospect appears to be terrifying for them.