[imagesource: Twitter / @UrbnRadioNation]

What could be more awkward than watching Mercedes struggling to crack the odd podium finish across the first five races of the 2022 Formula One season?

Easy – watching Martin Brundle’s grid walk at last night’s Miami Grand Prix.

As was to be expected, celebs flocked to Florida in order to be trackside for the city’s first-ever race.

Tom Brady, David Beckham, Michael Jordan – not a bad-triple up alongside Lewis Hamilton:

#LFG @LewisHamilton @Jumpman23 #DB pic.twitter.com/BcLHYNviSI

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) May 8, 2022

Fans also saw the likes of James Marsden, Pharrell, Will.i.am, Hailee Steinfeld, Ashton Kutcher, and Karlie Kloss. You can see a complete list of the who’s who here and here.

Right, it’s Brundle time. Tee us up, The Telegraph:

Thoughts and prayers were with Martin Brundle on Sunday night, after he endured a hellish start to the Miami Grand Prix.

In a bewildering, feverish segment in the Florida heat and noise, both viewer and presenter alike found themselves wondering: is this the traditional pre-race grid-walk segment that the King’s Lynn-born former racer has made his own on Sky’s F1 coverage?

Or has a portal opened to the multiverse, a sweaty purgatory where nobody knows anybody else, a living anxiety nightmare?

Look, it really was that awkward.

Ahead of ‘lights out and away we go’, 62-year-old Brundle always takes a stroll down the grid to chat with a few familiar faces. He was clearly out of his depth with all the celebs around, and it showed:

First up, David Beckham:

That is merely a starter for what came next.

Hey, isn’t that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II? No, but the penny only drops around one minute in:

That’s actually Paolo Banchero, the man likely to be the number one overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.

At least DJ Khaled was responsive, but he would respond to a potato if it promised him some PR:

The Williams sisters were in attendance and poor Venus soon got pinned down.

By this stage, Brundle was openly talking about the rejection he was facing:

The cringe factor has officially reached nine.

Let’s hit 10 with hadeda-hating Pharrell:

When you’ve exhausted your options, it’s time to simply find a random and see what happens:

Or, put another way:

Brundle chose to wear that shirt. He must accept some of the blame.

We should have known we were heading down a slippery slope when this happened at last season’s US Grand Prix:

[source:telegraph]