Sky Sports pundit Nico Rosberg was not happy with Bukayo Saka for showing little interest in granting an interview ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix during the grid walk proceedings ahead of the race.
Arsenal star Saka was in attendance for the event, along with the rest of Thomas Tuchel's England squad, for a team bonding activity ahead of a summer which will see them take on Andorra and Senegal.
Saka, along with captain Harry Kane and Newcastle centre-back Dan Burn, were approached by Sky Sports F1's Nico Rosberg and Simon Lazenby, who were filling in for Martin Brundle on pre-race grid walk duties. While Kane and Burn were happy to chat, Saka seemed completely uninterested in responding when Lazenby asked him for a quick chat about who he was supporting at the race.
"Bukayo, can we have a quick word? We're live on Sky at the moment," Lazenby said as he approached the Arsenal footballer. But Saka just glanced at the camera before he looked away, shaking his head and telling the Sky presenter "not much to say" before shooing Lazenby away.
Lazenby attempted one more time to speak with the 23-year-old, but was once again met with silence. He and Rosberg quickly moved on, but the former racing driver was not impressed with the Englishman and his attitude towards Sky while being part of their F1 coverage on the grid walk.
The one-time world champion, clearly unimpressed, remarked: “That was not very friendly.”
After speaking with Burn, and getting a “good” from Alpine driver Pierre Gasly as he rushed for the national anthem, Rosberg and Lazenby walked back past Kane, Saka, and Burn, at which point Rosberg pointed towards Saka and said: “They were better than the soccer player from before.”
Kane and Burn happily engaged with Rosberg and Lazenby, with the former driver thanking the striker for his efforts while playing for his beloved Bayern Munich in the recently-concluded Bundesliga season.
Infamous Awkward F1 Grid Walk Moments
Usual host of the show, Martin Brundle, has had plenty of awkward encounters
Martin Brundle
The Saka incident may bring up memories of other infamous incidents during the F1 grid walks for fans. One viral encounter with Ozzy Osbourne led to the Black Sabbath rockstar rambling incoherently in his direction, while Brundle's lack of familiarity with rapper Machine Gun Kelly and his music career led to a toe-curling exchange.
Some VIPs have even refused to engage with Brundle altogether, with infamous incidents involving model Cara Delevingne at the British Grand Prix in 2023 and a brutal snub from rapper Megan Thee Stallion and her bodyguard. Brundle's haphazard nature of those interviews leaves him fearing that he could be axed by his employers or 'cancelled' by society.
"I'm one sentence away from the end of my career at all times, or being cancelled," he told The Sun at F1 75 Live at London's O2 Arena in February. "I'm terrified of the whole thing, because it's live, and it's just pure car crash television."
He continued: "Machine Gun Kelly, Megan Thee Stallion, I don't know, getting knocked about by security guards. They're the ones that people like. And then I meet some really lovely, fascinating, world-class people, politicians and royalty and movie stars, and I'm very privileged with the people I meet on the grid.
"I get a list through on it, race morning, with 70 people on it. Half of them don't turn up, but you get through, and you're like, 'I've not heard of many of those.' Oh, 65 million followers on Instagram. Oh, 140 million followers on Instagram. How did I not hear of these people? Clearly somebody has. I think it's all part of the incoming tide, all the boats float higher. That's part of why something like this works today, and it hasn't happened in the past."
Bukayo Saka at the F1 Related
Bukayo Saka Slammed For Behaviour on Grid Walk at Spanish GP
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has come under heavy criticism from Formula 1 fans for his behaviour on the grid walk at the Spanish Grand Prix.