Celebs put best foot forward at GP
Hollywood superstars and a British comedy legend were among celebrities who enjoyed a day trackside at the Melbourne Grand Prix.
Entertainment
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Superstars and celebrities turned out in force for the 2022 Australian Grand Prix cementing Melbourne’s show-stopping return to major events.
Hollywood actor Eric Bana was among the well-heeled crowd at the Grand Prix’s VIP zone, the Paddock Club on Sunday.
Channel 10 identities including Masterchef Australia judges Melissa Leong, Andy Allen, Jock Zonfrillo, Dr Chris Brown and Julia Morris, of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here; and The Project’s Kate Langbroek and Waleed Aly, also lent their star power to the event.
Football players including Marcus Bontempelli, Josh Dunkley, Joel Selwood and Mason Cox were also in VIP suites. Asher Keddie and Vincent Fantauzzo were guests of Mercedes-Benz while Jack and Mikayla Crisp and Cameron Robbie were in the Idle Hour Marquee.
Peroni hosted VIPs including Shanina Shaik, Dan MacPherson and David Wenham.
“This marks my re-emergence back to society,” Morris said. “I’ve not been outside of my house because I’m still nervous about getting Covid, but not enough to keep me away from the Grand Prix.”
She added: “I step out of the bed, and if I’m alive, I’m moving in the right direction with my life.”
British comedy star Stephen K Amos was a guest in the Channel 10 suite.
He spoke about the continuing debate of comedy as a safe space after Will Smith assaulted Chris Rock over a joke at the Oscars.
“The comedy stage is the last bastion of freedom of speech,” Amos said. “You can literally say anything on stage, and violence does not come into it, because these are just words.
“It was an awful thing to witness because it was done in such an entitled way.”
Broadcaster Eddie McGuire, accompanied by wife Carla and their sons Joe and Xander, was also a guest in the Ten suite.
McGuire’s TV company produced the recent Shane Warne state memorial event at the MCG.
He said superstar contributions from Sir Elton John, Chris Martin, Ed Sheeran and Robbie Williams were stellar tributes.
“They were all super professional, with a depth of understanding and attention to detail,” McGuire said. “Chris Martin did four incarnations of the eulogy, and his performance of Yellow. Elton stopped a whole concert to do his tribute.
“The depth of professionalism and feeling, and generosity of spirit was unbelievable.”
Leong said she couldn’t wait for the new MasterChef Fans & Favourites series to launch next Monday.
“It’s never about manufactured drama, that’s the beauty about this show,” she said.
“We have half returning contestants, Julie Goodwin, how lucky are we and then we have these superfans who have grown up with the show.”
Elsewhere in the Ten suite, as multi-million dollar vehicles sped by, stars reminisced on the first ever car they owned.
Brown’s was a 1989 Toyota Corolla he inherited from his grandfather.
“It was a manual, it didn’t have a fourth gear, and it was a wild ride,” Brown said. “It also served as a pizza delivery car 10 years before I got it, so it smelled of super supreme.”
Leong’s first car was a “Honda Civic because … Asian,” she said, laughing.
“It was the perfect car for a 16 year old to be driving. It took me all the way through university, and got me out of the shire and into the city.”
Aly had a green Mitsubishi Lancer. “My dad got it for me, and it was a total surprise,” he said. “Sadly, someone ran into the back of it, and that was the end.”
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