Brundle on Thursday confirmed Pitt had sent him a message to explain why he was not keen to talk ahead of the race – a gesture that the former Formula One driver appreciated.

“Got a note from Brad Pitt explaining what happened with our near miss on the Austin grid. Unnecessary, but nice of him,” Brundle posted on Twitter.

Brundle’s grid walks have been his trademark contribution to television coverage of F1 racing since he began the feature at the 1997 British Grand Prix.

In an interview with GQ magazine, he explained: “It happened in 1997. My guys said ‘We've had an idea, why don't you walk down the grid and just say what you see?’ And I was the only one on the grid.

“Obviously we go live and that is unscripted, unrehearsed car crash television. Whatever happens, happens. And I got to wing it. And I can't throw it back to a studio or have the studio throw it to me.

"When I happen to find somebody, it flows. It's got to go. And that puts a lovely sense of urgency into it."

Brundle has had many awkward moments and failed interview attempts, but those of Pitt last Sunday and American rapper Megan Thee Stallion last year prompted social media storms.

While Pitt was reluctant and terse, he was not rude.

When his path to Stallion was blocked off physically, with a bodyguard telling Brundle to back off because “you can’t do that”, he replied “I can – because I just did.”

Brundle’s retort went viral and led to celebrity bodyguards being banned from the grid.