Martin Brundle has become one of the most famous personalities in the F1 world, owing largely to his iconic grid-walks. The famous segment has become a beloved pre-race segment for the fans of F1, as the 64-year-old often becomes a little too candid for the camera. While the British Journalist has had run-ins with a host of big-name celebrities and F1 drivers, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton has never appeared in front of the camera during the segment due to one superstition.
“Somebody convinced Lewis [Hamilton] that every time he talked to me on the grid, he crashed,” said Brundle (as quoted by planetf1.com) while revealing the Mercedes star’s superstition.
After revealing the superstition that Hamilton has, Brundle added that he hopes to change the same. The F1 presenter referenced the infamous 2023 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and explained how although he spoke to both George Russell and Charles Leclerc before the race, none of the two drivers crashed.
Instead, both Russell and Leclerc clinched podium finishes. Brundle now hopes that Hamilton too will get rid of his superstition and appear on his grid-walk segment.
Lewis Hamilton has previously dumped several other superstitions
Over the years, Lewis Hamilton has had several superstitions while prepping for a race. Back when he was 10 or 11, Hamilton’s elder brother gave him a conker (a type of seed), which became his “lucky conker.”
Hamilton kept the same in his suit but lost it soon after. Then came a “lucky pair of underwear,” which his mom shrunk. By the time he was 17 or 18, a new superstition emerged.
Hamilton would start dressing up in a particular way, putting his right sock up first before going to the left one. However, during one of the races, Hamilton crashed soon after beginning and realized his helmet wasn’t done up. At this moment, the Briton realized his superstitions were “ridiculous” and decided to get rid of all of them.
Hamilton believes that people create such things to further occupy their minds but realizes the psychological need for athletes to free their minds of such things to “let that greatness flow.” The Briton, like many other athletes, has overcome various unrealistic superstitions, and fans hope he will soon get over the Brundle superstition, too.
