Formula 1 has steadily increased in popularity in the United States in recent years, fueled by Netflix’s Drive to Survive series, and on Sunday the racing series held its first of two stateside races of 2022 in Miami.
As is the case at all F1 races, the paddock was filled with celebrities milling about, looking at cars, and talking to drivers before the race, but because this race was in Miami, there were far more American sports stars than usual. Some of them were household names anywhere, like Tom Brady, Serena Williams, and Michael Jordan, but there were also some lesser known names for folks from the other side of the pond wandering around.
Among them was Paolo Banchero, as the potential No. 1 overall draft pick in the upcoming 2022 NBA Draft was taking it all in at the paddock. At 6’10, Banchero stands out in a crowd and for the Sky Sports broadcast, that meant he had to be somebody and they should probably talk to him. The Sky Sports team decided he was Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, leading to an extremely awkward (and hilarious) interview on live TV with Martin Brundle.
This is now Patrick Mahomes what is going on pic.twitter.com/wze471siG6
— Stuckey (@Stuckey2) May 8, 2022
https://twitter.com/wutangkids/status/1523380591646810113
The “whatever” at the end is hysterical, as Brundle was clearly having a very difficult time sorting out who was who in a foreign place with a lot of non-F1 regulars in attendance. Doing an interview and then asking “what’s your name?” is an objectively funny way to go about things, and as F1 continues to try and grow its footprint in the U.S., Sky Sports might want to seek out some local spotters when they come stateside so they can avoid yelling “PATRICK” at someone who is decidedly not Patrick Mahomes.
