A Sky Sports camera operator appeared to be involved in a hilarious moment ahead of the Miami Grand Prix when a Croatian model seemed to get a lot more airtime than many expected.
Formula One has returned after a break which lasted more than a month and Sky resumed their coverage of the sport, including qualifying and the sprint race.
But there was one particular segment of their broadcast which caught the eye. During coverage of sprint qualifying, Naomi Schiff, Simon Lazenby and Jenson Button were all doing a live walk and talk around the paddock when a woman wearing a black crop top and boots walked right into the shot.
Oddly, the camera appeared to focus more on her than the Sky F1 crew and tracked her for a good few seconds as she walked past.
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On social media, viewers joked that the cameraman was "distracted" and "had to lock back in".
In the background of the shot was also a McLaren mechanic, whose priceless reaction also quickly went viral online.
Who is the woman who showed up on Sky's F1 coverage?
The woman was later identified as former 'Miss Croatia' Ivana Knoll, who has been at every edition of the Miami Grand Prix since 2022 as she resides in the Magic City.
On Instagram, where she has 2.8 million followers, Knoll posted a plethora of pictures of her on the paddock for her fifth Miami GP event and captioned it, "Since day one!".
She also reacted to her appearance's coverage, sharing the clip on her story and writing, "Getting viral all over TikTok" alongside a laughing emoji.
Knoll, who is also a DJ as well as a model and influencer, achieved a whole new level of virality at the 2018 World Cup when she was labelled the tournament's "sexiest fan" after showing support for Croatia.
Her followers on social media continued to grow and she caused a stir with her antics at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, claiming that she would go "topless" if Croatia went all the way.
She also caused a stir by pushing the limits of Qatar's strict dress code for women with her outfits at games.
Responding to the backlash, she said: "First I was thinking if the World Cup is happening there, they for sure will allow everything to make it comfortable for all fans without any of their restrictions.
"Then I heard about the rules and I was shocked. In the dress code, youâre forbidden from showing your shoulders, knees, belly and neck.
"I was like, âOMG, I donât even have clothes covering that all.'"
Knoll even said that players were in her DMs during the tournament. She popped up again at Euro 2024 and has continued to attend big sporting events all over the world, including in F1.
Topics:Â Sky Sports
Josh Lawless