At every Formula 1 race weekend, the drivers are in front of cameras all weekend answering questions and expressing opinions. This has become a ritual for Lewis Hamilton and Co. for all race weekends. The epitome of this scenario is the crowded paddock walks right before the race. While talking about his Grand Prix experiences on The Fast and Curious podcast, Ed Sheeran revealed how this baffles him.
“You know what I find mad is that there is a professional sport that – 10 minutes before the sport begins there’s just thousands of rich people taking selfies with the professional sports people,” he said.
“It’s mad, and then it all just like dissipates and then it starts. I’ve never known a professional sport where you can just allow whoever on.” , the British singer added.
Sheeran followed his statement with an example of thousands of people taking selfies with Lionel Messi before kick-off. It’s unimaginable! Hundreds of people are employed to stop this scenario coming to life in soccer and other sports. Sheeran could not embrace this reality of F1 and the casual strolls around the track right before lights out.
Putting himself in the driver’s shoes, he could not fathom the mentality switch. From making conversation with people to being focused on delivering performances on the track puzzled the 33-year-old singer. The Brit could not relate because as per his admission, performing in front of a large audience does not have the same effect.
Ed Sheeran’s gradual rise to F1 fandom
Ed Sheeran was not always a Formula 1 fanatic. However, he was forced to catch up after he was booked to perform at the 2022 US GP. So, the diligent Brit joined the F1 fandom taking the same route millions of other people took – binge-watching Drive to Survive. The docu-series that turned many into ardent F1 fans, helped Sheeran do a crash course before the race in Austin.
He revealed, “I was booked for it, for the Austin one in 2022. F1’s like a big deal, I can’t turn up without knowing about it so I did all of Drive to Survive. I sort of feel like I at least know the basics.”
Since Austin, the talented singer has come a long way. In Miami, he bumped into Daniel Ricciardo and ate lunch with the Australian. He also went for a hot lap with fellow countryman, George Russell. Sheeran was also in the Red Bull garage, seeing how things are done, with a meeting with Charles Leclerc also on the agenda.
