Max Verstappen says his Sky Sports boycott at the Mexico Grand Prix was as a result of the “constant” disrespect he has faced over the past year and he is “not tolerating it anymore.”
As Formula One descended upon the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez over the weekend, it was reported that the Red Bull team would not be taking part in any interviews with the broadcaster across its channels in the UK, Germany and Italy.
It is believed that the main grievance that Red Bull had with Sky is something that pit reporter Ted Kravitz said during the coverage of the United States Grand Prix the week prior. Kravitz repeatedly used the word “robbed” when discussing seven-time drivers’ champion Lewis Hamilton’s title defeat to Verstappen last year.
Verstappen claimed last year’s title in the final race in Abu Dhabi in controversial fashion. Former F1 race director Michael Masi was adjudged to have used incorrect procedure to withdraw the safety car following an incident, prior to resuming the final lap. Hamilton had been in a comfortable lead at that point and Masi’s decision denied him a record-breaking eighth title and secured Verstappen his first.
The Dutchman claimed a second consecutive drivers’ championship at the Japan Grand Prix earlier this month, and there was certainly no doubt surrounding this year’s victory.
The 25-year-old won his 14th race of the season at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday as Mercedes’ Hamilton finished second.
Explaining his decision not to interact with Sky in Mexico, Verstappen said: “It had nothing to do with this weekend but this year.
“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. Social media is a very toxic place and if you are constantly being like that live on TV. then you are making it worse instead of trying to make it better.
“You keep disrespecting me and at one point I will not tolerate it anymore and that is why I decided to stop answering.”
This followed Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport adviser, pulling out of scheduled Sky Italia and Sky Germany interviews ahead of Sunday’s race.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner added: “There were some derogatory comments made so we took a break from Sky for this race. Max was upset. We were upset and we made the decision to stand together as a team.
“It won’t have done Sky any harm for us to lay down a marker. Some of the commentary is fair but some pieces are sensationalist, and saying we robbed anyone of the championship, as was said in Austin, is going too far. It is not impartial or fair or balanced.
“We have said our piece and will go back to normal next race.”