F1 legend Martin Brundle got in trouble with TV bosses for what Ozzy Osbourne said to him during a brief but iconic grid walk interview at the Canadian Grand Prix

Martin Brundle interviews Ozzy Osbourne at the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix(Image: McNeil/Sutton Images)

Ozzy Osbourne provided Martin Brundle with one of his most memorable Formula 1 grid walk encounters. The iconic Black Sabbath frontman, who has died at the age of 76, wasn’t particularly known for his passion for F1, but he did make an appearance at least once at a grand prix.

The Birmingham-born rock legend was a VIP guest at the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. He turned up on the grid before the race began, with reporters eager to speak to him.

Brundle, the voice of ITV’s F1 coverage at the time, positioned himself perfectly for an interview, only to find himself battling to extract anything sensible from the star. In a moment that has become legendary, Brundle quipped: “I’ll try and think of a question to that answer.”

He was then forced to end the chat abruptly after Osbourne let slip a swear word on live television, which got Brundle into trouble with his superiors.

Reflecting on the incident, Brundle once said: “He wasn’t fully with it, shall we say. I asked him a question and he gave me a very long, incomprehensible answer.

“I said to him, ‘I’ll try and think of a question to that, but in the meantime how are the dogs?’ And he said, ‘They are at home s****** on the carpets.’ It went out live to millions of people and I got in trouble because I was supposed to have known he would swear if I asked that question.”

Osbourne did at least engage with Brundle, who has branded his grid walks in general as “car crash television”. While many stars are happy to converse with the ex-F1 driver on the grid, some have notoriously snubbed him.

Osbourne with Eddie Jordan, then boss of the Jordan team, at the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix(Image: Getty)

Over two decades since that encounter, Sky Sports’ Brundle can look back with a sense of humour, though he’d rather be remembered for his racing career. Earlier this year, he told the Daily Mail: “The grid walk actually really annoys me because that’s what I’m known for now.

“The whole thing is still a mystery. I won a lot of races as a driver and was on the F1 podium. I was World Sportscar Champion, winner at Le Mans, beat Ayrton Senna a lot of times in F3.

“I was a reasonably handy racing driver and I’m a reasonably handy commentator but all I’m going to be remembered for is getting ignored on the grid by the Megan Thee Stallion and other people I’d never heard of until that moment.

Osbourne meets Williams F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya at the Canadian Grand Prix(Image: Getty)

“It’s quite a funny thing but I can’t knock it, heading towards 66, I’m lucky to still be in live sport and that’s why I was pleased with the OBE because it wasn’t an OBE just for grid-walking.”

Osbourne passed away just weeks after a reunion gig in Birmingham. The Prince of Darkness, who had been battling Parkinson’s disease since 2019, died “with his family and surrounded by love”.

A family statement, issued on Tuesday, said: “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”