Franco Colapinto has explained that he snubbed Martin Brundle’s interview on the grid walk at the United States Grand Prix because he was running late for the national anthem and wanted to stay in the zone ahead of the race.
Brundle came across the Williams starlet during his trademark grid walk segment for Sky Sports F1 in Austin, but the Argentinian hotshot was not willing to talk.
“Must go and introduce myself to Franco,” he said later in the broadcast. “He looked at me like I was trying to mug him or something. I think he thought I was trying to steal his umbrella, to be honest. I’ll go and say hello to him.”
Colapinto was asked about the incident on media day at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix, shedding some light on his reasoning for rejecting Brundle’s interview.
“There isn’t much of a story,” Colapinto said. “I spoke with Williams many times and I don’t have much experience on this, of having first going to the grid, then waiting there for 30 minutes, jumping out of the car, walking around the paddock and everyone wanted to make new interviews.
“And I have been quite focused before the races, you know. And Connor [Bean, Williams press officer], he has been really helping me not do interviews on the grid, not on the grid, but in the paddock and all those things and being focused on what I have to do, that is driving, of course.”
Colapinto made it clear that despite his snub, he has lots of respect for the former Benetton and McLaren driver. “Martin, of course, he’s been extremely massive – a mega, mega, mega driver and he left a legacy in the sport as well,” he continued. “He never did any interview [with] me and it was, at least for me, not a great moment to be speaking in the camera.
“I was going to the national anthem and I was very late. And yeah, I was focused on the race, I was focused on driving and I was just fully into that. I didn’t want to speak too much.
“I love speaking now and when I jump out of the car, but when I am in the racing mode, I try to be a bit more into my role and not to be giving interviews. That’s it.”
