Jeremy Clarkson reveals he had a 's*** load of beers' after viral appearance on Martin Brundle's grid walk ahead of Bahrain Grand Prix... as fans joke they wish they were as drunk as the former Top Gear presenter

Jeremy Clarkson has admitted he had plenty to drink after his cameo on Martin Brundle's grid walk ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix went viral.

The latest F1 season got underway in the Middle East at the weekend, and the Grand Tour and former Top Gear presenter was among celebrities including Neymar and Patrice Evra at the opening race.

As usual, Brundle approached various high-profile figures on the grid before the race started on Saturday, including Clarkson, who was asked for his thoughts on the upcoming season.

Clarkson's hilarious appearance went viral after he told Sky Sports: 'I spent all of today looking at the lap times from last year to this year, and wondering - what have they all been doing over the winter?

'The gaps, by and large, are the same. McLaren have gotten a little better, they are much closer to Max. It's a strange thing to go from one year to the next, and for so little to have changed.' 

Jeremy Clarkson admitted he had a 's*** load' of beers after his bizarre viral appearance on Martin Brundle's grid walk ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon

Clarkson had left fans in stitches after his exchange with Brundle before the race got underway

When asked who he thought would win, Clarkson cheekily replied 'Adrian Newey', who is Red Bull's chief technical officer. 

And, taking to Instagram later on Saturday, Clarkson posted a clip of him waving the 'black and white flag', which is done to mark the end of a race.

He captioned the video with: 'I did a thing,', before fans joked in the comments that Clarkson was drunk.

One fan commented: 'How many beers you had today?,' as Clarkson replied: 'A s*** load.'

Others piled in as one added: 'My guy is drunk and 5 seconds behind...', before a further user said: 'I want to be as drunk as Jeremy is.'

Clarkson admitted he was drunk when sharing a clip of himself from the race on Instagram

Fans joked that Clarkson looked extremely inebriated and wished they were on the same level

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen cruised to victory in Bahrain, finishing 22.457 seconds ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez in second.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jnr - who will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton for the 2025 season - was third, 25.110 seconds adrift of Verstappen. 

The second race of the 2024 F1 campaign takes place in Saudi Arabia this coming weekend.