Max Verstappen finally entertained questions from Sky sports reporters on Thursday ahead of the 2022 Brazilian GP. This comes after the Dutchman and his team Red Bull boycotted all interviews from the F1 broadcaster.
Verstappen was bothered by Sky reporter Ted Kravitz’s remarks during the US GP weekend stating that Lewis Hamilton had been “robbed” of the 2021 title. The comments came while Kravitz was suggesting a plot for the upcoming F1-based movie featuring Brad Pitt. But it did hurt the Dutchman’s sentiments.
Red Bull abstained from all Sky media duties during the following weekend in Mexico. But Verstappen and crew lifted the ban after the team after two parties cleared the air in between them.
Verstappen on Sky boycott: “It has been a constant kind of digging and being disrespectful, especially from one particular person. At one point it is enough, and I don’t accept it. You cannot live in the past and you have to move on.”
— Philip Duncan (@PhilDuncanF1) October 30, 2022
The 2022 F1 champion answered questions from Sky commentator David Croft in the Thursday press conference at Interlagos. He later explained the situation saying, “Yeah, we drew a line under it. So we just keep on going.”
Max Verstappen says coverage by “one person” was disrespectful
Max Verstappen was upset after Ted Kravitz probed the controversial title win in Abu Dhabi. And Verstappen feels the disrespect from the Sky reporters has been constant throughout the season. This is what triggered the Dutchman to boycott Sky entirely.
Verstappen explained, “This year, it’s been a constant. It’s kind of like being disrespected daily, especially by one particular person. And it’s enough, I don’t accept it.” It is safe to assume the ‘person’ referred by the Red Bull driver to be Ted Kravitz.
Ted Kravitz just might be the coolest guy in f1. brilliant pic.twitter.com/xnLOdFHmQk
— Sakpe (@Unsalihu) October 30, 2022
He adds, “You can’t live in the past. You just have to move on. Social media is a very toxic place, and if you are constantly being like that on live TV, you make it only worse.”
Kravitz has previously made many comments suggesting the Dutchman’s win in 2021 was illegitimate. And that Lewis Hamilton lost the title only due to the error of then-race Director Michael Masi.
Verstappen feels the matter between him and Sky has been sorted for now. But he made a clear warning, “You keep disrespecting me, and at one point, I’m not tolerating it anymore. That’s why I decided to stop answering them.”
Christian Horner on Red Bull supporting Verstappen’s ban
Following Ted Kravitz’s remarks in COTA, Jos Verstappen advised his son Max Verstappen to not entertain Sky reporters. And Red Bull swiftly backed up their star driver.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner too spoke up against the disrespectful comments. Horner explained his decision by saying, “I think an accusation of championships being robbed is something that we don’t feel is an impartial commentary.”
For the avoidance of doubt my friend and colleague for the past 26 years @tedkravitz has my full support. Face to face dialogue is the only way to sort out issues and disputes in the relentless crucible of the F1 paddock. We all have opinions and different jobs to do, that’s life
— Martin Brundle (@MBrundleF1) November 1, 2022
He added, “Max was very upset about it, and as a team, we support him fully. We were equally upset about it. As a team, we took the decision this weekend, I took the decision that we’ll have a weekend off.”
Verstappen’s ban might have affected the image of Sky Sports. Thus, ahead of the race in Brazil, Sky Sports F1 director Billy McGinty visited Red Bull’s facility in Milton Keynes to sort out the differences.
Even FIA President Mohammad Ben Sulayem wrote an open letter calling out the online abuse in F1. He urged “the media, teams, drivers and fans” to maintain respect for one another.
