Jeremy Clarkson had a single interview with Sky Sports F1 and yet it still resulted in chaos. The Clarkson's Farm presenter discussed a multitude of subjects with Martin Brundle, Naomi Schiff and Simon Lazenby, from Franco Colapinto's grid penalty "for being Argentinian" to his thoughts on Kim Kardashian.
Clarkson was Alpine's guest for the weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, having formed a strong relationship with the outfit due to his proximity to the headquarters in Enstone. Asked about the team's chances, he said:
“Franco’s got a grid penalty for being Argentinian. Probably. Well, I’d give him one for that. But anyway, that’s just because of what happened when we went there."
This line from the presenter, unsurprisingly, has divided fans. Clarkson’s history with Argentina goes back more than a decade, to one of the most controversial episodes in Top Gear history.
In 2014, Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May travelled through Patagonia for a special episode, with Clarkson driving a Porsche 928 carrying the number plate H982 FKL. Locals took it as a reference to the 1982 Falklands War, and protests broke out in Ushuaia, with war veterans demonstrating outside the crew’s hotel.
The situation quickly escalated. The team was pelted with stones and eventually abandoned their cars at the roadside before fleeing across the border into Chile.
The BBC insisted the plate was a coincidence. Executive producer Andy Wilman said any suggestion that the car had been chosen for its number plate, or that the plate had been swapped, was “completely untrue”.
Jeremy Clarkson, Alpine F1 Team
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Clarkson has clearly not forgotten this episode.
"Pierre [Gasly] should be good for Q3," he continued.
Colapinto will serve a 10-place grid penalty in Austin, for using a fourth control electronics unit of the season. Gasly starts in P11.
Clarkson went on to explain why he supports the squad, which is based near his farm in Oxfordshire.
“Since Michael [Schumacher] was there, then Fernando [Alonso], then all through the Kimi Raikkonen years, and then now with Pierre. Because they’re our local team. I mean, the girl that looks after my rabbits at the farm, her dad works for Alpine. So you feel as though you’re part of a family with them.”
“That’s pretty tenuous,” replied Brundle with a smile.
Jeremy Clarkson, Alpine F1 Team
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
The conversation then turned to the celebrities Brundle regularly meets on his famous grid walk, which Clarkson admitted he enjoys watching.
“I love the way that you’re faced with these people who have literally no idea why they’re here. You know, I was sitting talking this morning about Eddie Irvine in Canada in ‘99 under the red flag and how he got back onto the podium having dropped to the back of the field. And you just think, most people you have to interview, they’d barely know what a car is. So I find it funny watching you having to do that. I genuinely do. Sorry.”
Lazenby then asked whether his heart had melted when Brundle finally interviewed Kim Kardashian - Lewis Hamilton's partner - in Singapore, after she had famously blanked him in Monaco.
“I wasn’t watching that. Because I’m sort of not interested in Kim Kardashian if I’m honest. So I edited that bit out. No, I’m not interested. Why would I be interested in Kim Kardashian? I’m here to watch Formula 1, not Kim Kardashians. And all the cameras go, ‘Oh, Kim Kardashian’s here!’ Why do I care?”
Clarkson insisted he was no expert on the championship, saying he learns “everything I know about Formula 1” from the Sky pundits he was in conversation with. While this line alone may have won some fans over, social media is suddenly alight again with opinions on Clarkson's edgy comments on Colapinto and Argentina.