Max Verstappen has revealed why he and his Red Bull team stopped giving interviews to Formula 1 broadcaster Sky.
The Red Bull driver did not speak to Sky after yesterday’s qualifying session or today’s United States Grand Prix. The group’s principal, Christian Horner, did not grant an interview at the time.
Sky is one of F1’s biggest broadcasters and holds exclusive rights to the sport in several territories, including the United Kingdom. Verstappen said his decision to stop talking to them was not because of the coverage of the Mexican Grand Prix.
“It has nothing to do with this weekend,” he said at an FIA press conference today. But this year, like a dig, it’s relentlessly irreverent. Especially a certain person. At some point, enough is enough, I won’t accept it.”
“You can’t live in the past,” he added. “You must go on now.”
He blamed Sky’s coverage for fueling hatred against his team on social media.
Verstappen said: “Social media is a very toxic place these days and if you’re constantly on TV like that, you’re making it worse rather than trying to make the world better. “You don’t respect me. And at some point, I just couldn’t take it anymore. So that’s why I decided to end the answer.
Verstappen added that abuse on social media had become worse as F1’s popularity grew.
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“I think because the sport is more popular, more people are watching, so more people are writing,” he said. “That’s all I can think of. It is not very good that they are allowed to write such things.
“So I’m hoping that we can come up with an algorithm that stops people from becoming keyboard warriors. Because these people would never come up to you and say things like that in front of you, because they can sit in front of their desk or sit at home, upset, frustrated and typing whatever they want.” They love it because the platform allows you to. That can be very hurtful and hurtful to some people and it shouldn’t be.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said the team’s boycott will not continue beyond this weekend. Horner said this was prompted by comments on Sky’s United States Grand Prix broadcast and not just on their British channel, Sky Sports.
Horner said: “We are certainly disappointed by the series of defamatory comments made on Sky. “So we felt we’d take this weekend off and Sky wouldn’t hurt us if we had this weekend off.
“There has to be a balance in opinion. Some of the opinions are very good, but some parts are being too sensationalized. And we stand together as a team.”
Red Bull explained their concerns to Sky. “We made it very clear that it was not just on Sky UK but on all Sky channels, in Germany, in Italy.
“So it was just for this weekend, but it was just to register our grievances when sometimes TV seems more sensational.
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This article will be updated.
2022 Mexican Grand Prix
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