Martin Brundle defended by viewers after ‘painfully awkward’ interaction with ‘rude’ Brian May

That Martin Brundle, what's he like?

Sky's man on the tarmac for Formula 1 is pretty much a legend for his interactions with the celebrities who come to watch the racing.

Of course, Brundle is well known for his more awkward moments as well as his interviews with F1's famous fans.

There was the time Machine Gun Kelly challenged him to demonstrate his best air guitar, and the time he asked Megan Thee Stallion to come up with an impromptu rap.

Things actually reached the point with F1 that the sport introduced a 'Martin Brundle clause' where celebrities walking on the grid couldn't bring security to usher away interviewers.

Since then, Brundle has known what he's about on the grid, telling Kylian Mbappe's entourage 'I'm in charge' at the Monaco Grand Prix.

It's the British Grand Prix today and Brundle has ended up with another awkward moment to add to the many more he's experienced before.

This time he was trying to chat up Brian May of the legendary rock band Queen, though May was busy being told about one of the cars that would be part of the race.

Brundle said he didn't want to be rude so wouldn't intrude much, and waited for a lull in the conversation before asking: "Brian, are you up for a chat with Sky?"

Unfortunately for Martin, it seemed as though May's answer to his question was going to be no, as the musician shook his head and didn't seem to respond much to the request for an interview.

Sensing that he wasn't going to get an interview with May, Brundle told him it was 'nice to see you on the grid' and retreated saying 'we don't want to make life difficult for him'.

While lots of people have opinions on Martin Brundle, plenty thought that in this case he was entirely justified in asking for an interview.

"If you go on the grid, expect attention," one F1 fan said, while someone else said the encounter was 'the most painfully awkward thing I’ve seen' in a good long while.

And someone else simply just said: "Rude."

Martin Brundle trying to interview Brian May at the British GP may be the most painfully awkward thing I’ve seen on TV since Brent begged Neil and Jennifer not to make him redundant. pic.twitter.com/6lcLNfMLs3

— Sachin Nakrani (@SachinNakrani) July 7, 2024

Others chipped in to say they thought Brundle was 'very respectful' towards May, and a couple of people claimed that he 'did the same to Channel 4 too' when former F1 drivers David Coulthard and Mark Webber had tried to speak to May.

However, there were some who sided with May and said he was 'trying to have a day out' and 'not obliged' to speak to Brundle if he doesn't want to.

LADbible have contacted Brian May's representatives for comment.