Max Verstappen decided to not entertain questions from Sky Sports and its other affiliates like Sky Germany and Sky Italia. The news comes after a Sky Sports F1 journalist took a dig at the Dutchman and the criticism drawn at Red Bull following the Budget Cap breach.
It started with the 2022 US Grand Prix, where Ted Kravitz was suggesting a script for the upcoming F1-based movie starring Brad Pitt. Kravitz was walking down the pitlane during his weekly “Notebook” and claimed Lewis Hamilton reclaiming his “robbed title” would be a great plot.
HELP so basically ted kravitz said max didn’t deserve the title last year so now the red bull pr is pissed and max is not giving interviews to sky uk and italy too because sky italy is right next to sky uk in the media pen? 😭
— bianca ☀️ (@biazzarro) October 29, 2022
In doing so, Kravitz reignited the controversial ending to the 2021 championship that saw Max claim his maiden title. Max found the journalist’s reporting showing him as an illegitimate 2-time champion.
There are reports that Max’s father Jos Verstappen suggested he should not entertain Ted Kravitz and other Sky journalists. And after setting a pole position in Mexico, the Dutchman boycotted all fractions of Sky reporters.
Also Read: Fernando Alonso calls his comments on Max Verstappen-Lewis Hamilton title comparisons as fake news
Ted Kravitz calls Lewis Hamilton 8-time World Champion
Max Verstappen was not happy hearing Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz address Lewis Hamilton as an 8-time World Champion. Although Kravitz corrected himself later, the damage was done.
Kravitz stated, “Hamilton goes in the final race to become the greatest of all time. He gets robbed, comes back and his next year’s car is rubbish and does not win a race all year.”
He adds, “He battles with the same guy who robbed him of the title in the previous year. And manages to finish ahead of him.” Kravitz even stated that Verstappen only won because he had a faster car because of Adrian Newey.
TED KRAVITZ IS SO REAL pic.twitter.com/CK87qHrGdq
— out of context Toto Wolff (@askolatte) October 23, 2022
This angered the PR team of Red Bull who were already smeared with the Cost Cap breach reports. And now Red Bull seems to support Verstappen in his decision to not speak to any Sky reporters.
Ted Kravitz just might be the coolest guy in f1. brilliant pic.twitter.com/xnLOdFHmQk
— Salihu (@Unsalihu) October 30, 2022
He was seen briskly walking past the sky reported following the Qualifying run on Saturday. This is not the first time Verstappen’s win in 2021 was questioned by Ted Kravitz who claimed Michael Masi’s mistakes as the reason for Max’s win in Abu Dhabi.
Max Verstappen faces Mercedes threat in Mexico
Max Verstappen grabbed his sixth pole position of the year for the 2022 Mexican GP. The Dutchman set a time of 1:17.775 seconds to secure his first career pole in Mexico.
Max is ahead of the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton who qualified P2 and P3 after a strong showing this weekend. The Mercedes cars were separated by just three-tenths of a second from Verstappen’s Red Bull.
Both Mercedes drivers look threatening as the high-altitude circuit of Mexico city paired with their new upgrades seems to boost their chances of winning their first race in 2022. So maybe this could be the weekend Mercedes have been waiting for.
A very lovely Saturday 👌 Great job team @redbullracing 💪
To be on Pole Position here is amazing! The atmosphere is incredible, you can really feel the passion of the fans while driving the track.
I’m really looking forward to race here tomorrow 🇲🇽👋 pic.twitter.com/TAs7fwujPu
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) October 29, 2022
Max faces the threat of two Mercedes attacking him. Also, no pole-sitter has finished on the podium since 2016. While Lewis starts P3, the position of the last two race winners.