Ex-Manchester United footballer Patrice Evra cut short his interview with Martin Brundle on the F1 grid in Bahrain to embrace Brazilian star Neymar at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday.

Brudle performed his famous grid walk on Sky Sports at the season-opening race in Bahrain, with Evra one of the first celebrities he encountered.

Wearing a bright pink suit, the Frenchman admitted: “My wife hated it [the suit] but I love it!”

He then added “We are in Bahrain, I love the race” - before he swerved away from the camera to greet ex-Barcelona and PSG star Neymar, leaving Brundle to move on with his grid walk.

Attention now turns back to racing, with Brundle bemoaning the negative news surrounding the sport, following allegations of inappropriate behaviour from Christian Horner towards a female colleague. Brundle has called for an “absolute conclusion,” despite Red Bull clearing their CEO and team principal following an internal investigation.

“I think it’s indisputable that Formula One is all over the front pages, all over the internet, throughout the world, and it’s not about the racing or who is going to win this grand prix,” Brundle said.

“I think it’s unquestionable that it’s not good for F1, what’s going on, and I do believe that some actions need to be taken to move this along and to bring this to an absolute conclusion.

“As I said earlier in the week, it feels like the beginning of the story rather than the end of it. But we will have to wait and see. All allegations have been denied. It’s just a horrible situation, whichever way you look at it.”

Red Bull look to cement their dominance in the sport, with Max Verstappen aiming for a fourth successive world title. But there will be plenty of focus on Lewis Hamilton throughout 2024 with the Briton driving in his final season with Mercedes before joining Ferrari in 2025.

Following the Bahrain Grand Prix, there will be another Saturday race day next week in Jeddah with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix one of 24 races in the calendar.