Internet sleuths have unmasked the viral Miami Grand Prix model and identified her as the woman who was labelled as the World Cup’s ‘sexiest fan’ in 2018.
On Saturday afternoon, a Sky Sports camera operator’s work went viral online after they appeared to be distracted by a glamorous model walking the paddock.
During their coverage of the Miami GP, the camera awkwardly panned to a brunette woman dressed in a black crop top striding down the paddock while Jenson Button was delivering his analysis to colleagues Simon Lazenby and Naomi Schiff.
As the woman exited view, the camera drifted to a McLaren mechanic who appeared to react with a stunned expression.
The moment instantly went viral on social media and it didn’t take eagle-eyed fans long to point out where they recognized the mystery brunette from.
Fans online suggested that the glamorous woman was Croatian model Ivana Knoll, who is otherwise known as ‘football’s sexiest fan’.
A moment in Sky Sports’ F1 broadcast has gone viral after the cameraman appeared distracted
Internet sleuths identified the mystery brunette as viral World Cup fan Ivanka Knoll
Knoll, 33, shot to fame at the 2018 World Cup in Russia when she was spotted cheering on her nation from the stands and boasts 2.8million followers on Instagram.
She lives in Miami and is a regular visitor to the race in Florida, having attended every edition since it was added to the F1 calendar in 2022.
Knoll, who is also a DJ, attended the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 but was criticized for wearing revealing attire.
‘There is good and bad and some things are blessings and some are lessons,’ she told Daily Mail in 2024.
‘I am the type of person who doesn’t care about other people’s opinions anyway.
‘But definitely my career changed a lot in an amazing way (after Qatar) and it helped me to get back to my biggest love which is music.’
She said the recognition that the World Cup gave her had led to her being invited to DJ at events like Formula 1 and in Las Vegas.
‘Nobody made me nobody can break me. I choose the harder way for my career not to sell myself or my soul and it’s not easy but I am making it.’
She said having followers on Instagram and more on other social media platforms, was ‘mind blowing.’
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Is it fair that models like Ivana Knoll get more attention than the actual sports event itself?
Knoll has amassed nearly three million followers on Instagram after going viral in 2018
Knoll revealed back in 2024 that she had split from her boyfriend of 10 years
Knoll’s current relationship status remains unknown however she previously made headlines in 2024 after revealing that she had split from her boyfriend of 10 years.
At the time, she told German outlet Bild: ‘I had a boyfriend who I was with for 10 years. We broke up last year. Now I’m single, but I’m not looking for a new man at the moment.’
The model also previously revealed that someone tried to force her into setting up an OnlyFans account.
In an Instagram post, she said: ‘Hey guys, I don’t know if you have noticed, but Instagram is reporting everything that I post.’
Knoll added: ‘Someone is behind who is trying to force me onto OnlyFans but guys let me tell you this, I will never set up an OnlyFans, like f*** off.’
