Sir Jackie Stewart was confronted by a stern-looking security guard on the Miami Grand Prix grid as he tried to help his pal Martin Brundle.
Brundle was, as usual, speaking to celebrities on the grid ahead of the race and there were plenty of them to be found. There was a lovely moment as he spent a couple of minutes chatting with NBA star Paolo Banchero, who he infamously mistook for NFL champ Patrick Mahomes last year.
And as his Sky Sports segment came to an end, he wanted to have a brief word with Roger Federer. When the tennis legend could not hear him from a VIP area, Stewart quickly stepped in to help.
He slipped by one security guard to enter a VIP area, but was swiftly collared by another who stood in the 83-year-old's way, despite his protestations. It was only when a colleague came over and explained who he was that Stewart was allowed to go up to Federer.
Brundle had already pointed out that it wasn't worth trying to chat with Serena Williams given his many failed attempts in the past. But Federer proved to be a much more willing interviewee thanks to Stewart's work as a middleman.
Brundle had pleaded with Stewart to "not get himself kicked out" of the grid area, but there was no danger of that once everyone involved was fully up to speed with who the Scot was. And Federer had just enough time to say he was supporting Lewis Hamilton and George Russell before the pre-race driver introduction ceremony began.
Fans on social media were furious that Stewart had ever been treated as anything other than a VIP in the first place. "He is F1 royalty, he should be allowed anywhere," wrote one fan.
Another said: "I would have assumed Jackie Stewart went where Jackie Stewart pleased on a F1 grid." And a third agreed: "Any area that Roger Federer, a tennis player, is allowed in at a GP, Sir Jackie should be allowed in too."
And a fourth asserted: "Guys like Sir Jackie Stewart and Martin Brundle should be some of the few to be allowed to go pretty much anywhere there. Celebrities and their entourage should be told ahead of time and show respect to them, not the other way around."
