[Official] United States Grand Prix 2021: Grand Prix Weekend Thread - Round 17 of 22

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

Now I DVR everything. I may watch it live, or slightly delayed. Either way, it's a morning activity that gives me the rest of my day to do something else.

This was the sound that would really wake me up on Sunday morning.

https://youtu.be/qgiBkydMW8k

Richard

Im the same .... I have it auto-linked on my Foxtel box to record every session. I used to do the same back in the VCR days, albeit only for races, and in fact only last year when I moved house did I declutter and throw out all my old F1 recordings on (many dozens of) VCR tapes. I dont even own a VCR now. But I still watch every race live(yes I woke up at 4:30am on Monday morning to watch the Austin preamble and race live.
However, showing my age, I clicked Richard's link and was expecting to hear the Chain by Fleetwood Mac.... that was always my signal it was F1 time back in the day..

For other old farts: https://youtu.be/JDG2m5hN1vo

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by Adam43

Although I have just seen a clip of the grid walk with Brundle. Very funny!

it really was!

he is so out of place with these things it has to be an intentional comedic choice to have this short older man running around and sweating like crazy asking people who he doesnt really know or care to know inane questions.

to borrow from a show that Ben Stiller's dad was on...

[TrapezeArtist]

I didn't see the Martin Brundle grid walk at Austin. It's a few years since I saw him on a grid walk but I used to hate it when he was brown-nosing some non-entity sleb instead of talking to some of the drivers, team managers, engineers and mechanics that were all around him. Sounds like nothing much has changed.

[TrapezeArtist]

I presume this is what people are talking about: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/br...-snub/6711907/
It seems to support my case for getting rid of these worthless people from the grid. We don't need them.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by TrapezeArtist

I presume this is what people are talking about: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/br...-snub/6711907/
It seems to support my case for getting rid of these worthless people from the grid. We don't need them.

I saw that and at the time I thought Brundle handled the situation well, particularly when one bodyguard told him he ‘couldn’t do that’. He's got a point, they should learn some manners and 'respect on our patch'.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I saw that and at the time I thought Brundle handled the situation well, particularly when one bodyguard told him he ‘couldn’t do that’. He's got a point, they should learn some manners and 'respect on our patch'.

They dont seem to respect that they are invited to act in the role of supporting the main event. It seems some feel entitled enough to believe it is all about them.

[Greem]

Hey folks, don't forget how "edgy" RBR like to be! They don't want stuffy old drivers on the grid, they want STARS and their MINDERS and their SPONSOR PARTNERS and their lawyers and their corporate PR people and...

That's not really that edgy, is it?

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by E.B

Im the same .... I have it auto-linked on my Foxtel box to record every session. I used to do the same back in the VCR days, albeit only for races, and in fact only last year when I moved house did I declutter and throw out all my old F1 recordings on (many dozens of) VCR tapes. I dont even own a VCR now. But I still watch every race live(yes I woke up at 4:30am on Monday morning to watch the Austin preamble and race live.
However, showing my age, I clicked Richard's link and was expecting to hear the Chain by Fleetwood Mac.... that was always my signal it was F1 time back in the day..

For other old farts: https://youtu.be/JDG2m5hN1vo

I think the chain version seems to resonate with most people. For me, it is the guitar riff one that triggers the most nostalgia. Also, as a US viewer, I wonder if back in the late 80's and 90's if we were seeing the BBC "Chain" intros or if maybe we were seeing something that was put in for local broadcast? Via Speedvision/Speedchannel/SpeedTV, ESPN, ABC or whoever was showing F1 to US viewers back then.

Anyhow, I found this which shows various incarnations of the intros.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uypRVgyJrH4

Richard

[Anyopenroad]

Originally Posted by E.B

They dont seem to respect that they are invited to act in the role of supporting the main event. It seems some feel entitled enough to believe it is all about them.

Just to be clear that the "they" Brundle referred to is entourages and bodyguards, not celebrities:

“Bodyguards visiting the grid for the first time don’t bother me, everyone’s got a job to do, but they could maybe learn some manners and respect on our patch.”

Autosport carried this quote in the article but their headline fudges who he was referring to and their tweets wrongly say he was referring to celebs. Moral: don't fall for clickbait.

Megan Thee Stallion was actually perfectly civil to him and whatever one's view of celebs on the grid and whether or not her music is to your taste, she is a genuine star. If you're not familiar with her unique style, go to Youtube and take a look at some of her freestyle raps. Just don't do so with children nearby, it's absolutely X-rated .

[broadrun96]

And remember, a GREAT MANY of American celebrities are there to sell something recently announced not cause they give 2 rips about the race. Most would open a small shop faster than Richard Hammond if it would get them to mention the new album, project, movie, Popeyes Sauce ( Megan Thee Stallion, couldn't tell you who she was at all), etc

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by E.B

They dont seem to respect that they are invited to act in the role of supporting the main event. It seems some feel entitled enough to believe it is all about them.

Possibly, though you don’t know what basis they’ve agreed to attend on, or what promises have been made to them, nor what they are being paid to be there.

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

I think the chain version seems to resonate with most people. For me, it is the guitar riff one that triggers the most nostalgia. Also, as a US viewer, I wonder if back in the late 80's and 90's if we were seeing the BBC "Chain" intros or if maybe we were seeing something that was put in for local broadcast? Via Speedvision/Speedchannel/SpeedTV, ESPN, ABC or whoever was showing F1 to US viewers back then.

Anyhow, I found this which shows various incarnations of the intros.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uypRVgyJrH4

Richard

Thanks for the link Richard, some great nostalgia there. Unfortunately I had to stop watching as the audio was about 10 seconds behind the visual content when I watched it which I found to be very distracting! (Is there a way to re-sync this on youtube? it bugs the hell out of me at times!)

[steve_r]

I would prefer it if Brundle just ignored the celbs altogther. I was not sure who the lady in question was, and don't know why Brundle asked her to perform a wrap? The whole exchange was bizarre and cringy from beginning to end. But hey, its a minute out of the whole weekend.

[crmalcolm]

In other threads (particularly 'How to Fix') there are regular comments about attracting future fans to the sport, and observations that many come to the sport as a result of activities / profiles off-track.

Surely celebrity culture (including modern music artists) are part of that?

[Anyopenroad]

Brundle’s grid walks have been cringe for years. Frankly I think it’s a credit to the various people he’s interrupted and shoved mics in the faces of that no-one has punched him. Pretty much everyone treats him with more courtesy than I would, including Megan Thee Stallion, who was perfectly polite to him - it was her bodyguards who interjected.

Still, at least Brundle knows who she is - a rapper well-known (other than on this forum!) for her ferocious freestyle raps. Brundle was playing with fire asking for her to freestyle live on air since her work is jaw-droppingly explicit .

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

Brundle’s grid walks have been cringe for years. Frankly I think it’s a credit to the various people he’s interrupted and shoved mics in the faces of that no-one has punched him. Pretty much everyone treats him with more courtesy than I would, including Megan Thee Stallion, who was perfectly polite to him - it was her bodyguards who interjected.

Still, at least Brundle knows who she is - a rapper well-known (other than on this forum!) for her ferocious freestyle raps. Brundle was playing with fire asking for her to freestyle live on air since her work is jaw-droppingly explicit .

She swears a lot?

[Beau2]

It kinda says it all that this thread has more posts about celebrity culture than the actual racing...

[Anyopenroad]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

She swears a lot?

Honestly, you have to hear for yourself. Just google Mehan Thee Stallion freestyle.

[gert]

Celebrities are the most useless people to interview, zoom in on etc...

If I want to see Lewis Hamilton I go to a race.
If I want to see Serena Williams I go to a tennis court.

If I watch a race, I have no interest in seeing or hearing Serena Williams.
If I am at a tennis court, I have no interest in seeing or hearing Lewis Hamilton.

If Hamilton is at the tennis court because he's a fan of tennis or of Serena in particular: no problem, but at that moment he's just as (un)important as every other fan.
If Serena is a fan of motorracing and shows up at the track: same story.



Replace Serena/tennis with every other celebrity and their occupation.

[S griffin]

Depends what kind of celebrity. If they are famous for achieving something than that's something. But if they are famous for the sake of it, then it's probably someone you don't want to know

Of course it's nice to sports people at other sporting events, but that's not why I watch it. We watch our sport for the people involved. But it is interesting to see that sports people don't limit their interest to their own sport. I have no problem with them being interviewed. And sometimes their presence adds to the event. After all it's better than the aforementioned 'famous for the sake of being famous' crowd

I don't really know much about Serena outside her tennis tbh, but I do know she must have some interest in F1 as she's been to plenty of races before, which is fair enough. And there are plenty of other celebs who have that interest in F1 too, as there are plenty of others who have been enough times.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by gert

Celebrities are the most useless people to interview, zoom in on etc...

If I want to see Lewis Hamilton I go to a race.
If I want to see Serena Williams I go to a tennis court.

If I watch a race, I have no interest in seeing or hearing Serena Williams.
If I am at a tennis court, I have no interest in seeing or hearing Lewis Hamilton.

If Hamilton is at the tennis court because he's a fan of tennis or of Serena in particular: no problem, but at that moment he's just as (un)important as every other fan.
If Serena is a fan of motorracing and shows up at the track: same story.



Replace Serena/tennis with every other celebrity and their occupation.

It's all part of wider 'marketing'.

If I want to sell you a watch, do you think I would feature endorsement and product placement from Lewis Hamilton or Hans Ulrich Scholpp?

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Beau2

It kinda says it all that this thread has more posts about celebrity culture than the actual racing...

Hot take!
The racing’s done and I believe fully understood. And it was just a funny moment.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

It's all part of wider 'marketing'.

If I want to sell you a watch, do you think I would feature endorsement and product placement from Lewis Hamilton or Hans Ulrich Scholpp?

That's quite different. Having a celebrity endorsing a product is one thing but having a celebrity attending an international sporting event is another.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

That's quite different. Having a celebrity endorsing a product is one thing but having a celebrity attending an international sporting event is another.

I'm not so certain they are entirely different. For me, seeing a celebrity attend an international sporting event is an endorsement of the product. In this case, the product is F1.

As mentioned previously, some of it depends on the reason for the person attending the event.
If they are there for their own self promotion, then it is F1 being used as a publicity platform.
If they are there for their interest in the sport, then F1 might treat them as an endorsement opportunity.
If they are there as an invited guest, then they are clearly being used as a marketing tool for the product that is F1.

It must be remembered that, despite what many way wish to be the case, F1 is a product that is there to be marketed and sold. In (the majority of?) places F1 is behind a paywall, yet attracts many more fans than most other forms of motorsport. Part of that is because they are buying the product that is F1, which goes far beyond simply what happens on the track. F1 also has to market itself to people who may have little other interest in 'pure' motorsport - and that is why celebrity attendance is part of the overall package that F1 offers.

And for the Red Bull haters - blame them for MTS being on the grid:

Saddle up �� Great to have @theestallion and @CashApp in the garage for the #USGP CashAppSpeedLessons — Red Bull Racing Honda (@redbullracing)

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

Brundle’s grid walks have been cringe for years. Frankly I think it’s a credit to the various people he’s interrupted and shoved mics in the faces of that no-one has punched him. Pretty much everyone treats him with more courtesy than I would, including Megan Thee Stallion, who was perfectly polite to him - it was her bodyguards who interjected.

Still, at least Brundle knows who she is - a rapper well-known (other than on this forum!) for her ferocious freestyle raps. Brundle was playing with fire asking for her to freestyle live on air since her work is jaw-droppingly explicit .

Have they?

You are clearly overestimating common knowledge and underestimating basic courtesy.

MB's grid walk is what the producers want and ask him to do! The cringeworthy aspects are purely individual opinion! MB has a satirical style that is appreciated by most and appears to be well received by his targets. It's only 'superstars' (I include some drivers in this) that don't appreciate or welcome the opportunity for a few soundbites.

It's not Brundle's fault that he has to attempt to ingratiate himself with so called celebs who have nothing to do with the sport other than having been invited (or paid!) to attend at the behest of a team or sponsor.