Martin Brundle speaks to Megan Thee Stallion ahead of the 2021 US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
Martin Brundle speaks to Megan Thee Stallion ahead of the 2021 US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
Screenshot/Sky Sports F1
  • Celebrities walking the F1 grid will now be "obliged" to take part in interviews and won't be allowed bodyguards.
  • The rule comes after Megan Thee Stallion's bodyguard had an awkward encounter with a TV reporter.
  • Martin Brundle, the commentator involved, joked that the new rule should be called the "Brundle clause."

Celebrities seeking the glitz and glamor of the Formula One grid will now be obliged to speak to reporters and won't be able to take their bodyguards with them thanks to new rules introduced in the wake of an incident involving Megan Thee Stallion at the US Grand Prix.

The new rule was brought in as a result of an awkward encounter Megan's bodyguard had with former racing driver turned TV commentator Martin Brundle at the Circuit of the Americas in October.

Brundle approached Megan to ask if she "had a rap" for the day before being pushed aside by her bodyguard.

Afterwards, the Sky Sports F1 pundit, who competed in 158 races, tweeted that bodyguards "could maybe learn some manners and respect on our patch."

Now, Brundle says celebrities will be "obliged" to take part in interviews.

"There have been new rules introduced, that any celebrities on the grid must not have bodyguards any longer," he said, as reported by GP Fans.

"It must be the 'Brundle clause', and they're obliged to talk to me."

Grid walks are a popular part of the build-up to the race with celebrities wanting a closer look at the cars before they set off.

Brundle, a veteran of reporting from the grid, first started doing so in 1997 and says he likes to "call out" celebrities.

Ben Stiller and Christian Horner at the US Grand Prix.
Celebrities, such as Ben Stiller, are often pictured on the grid before a race.
Mark Thompson/Getty Images

"I like to call out some of the celebs that I think are just using the grid a little bit if I'm honest," he said. "They don't really have a passion."

"I know there are millions of fans at home going 'I should be on that grid. I'm a massive Formula 1 fan, not them'.

"But my claim to fame at last. I get ignored by Megan Thee Stallion, I get biffed out of the way by a man mountain and then told off by a Malfoy lookalike who doubtless was on his first-ever time to a Formula 1 grid.

"I put out a simple tweet about it and got five million impressions. I don't understand any of that, to be honest."

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