Max Verstappen refuses to speak to British F1 broadcaster Sky Sports at the Mexican Grand Prix following pundit Ted Kravitz’s comments.
The two-time reigning world champion is unhappy about comments Kravitz made on his ‘Ted’s Notebook’ show after the US Grand Prix in Austin, when he referred to Lewis Hamilton being “robbed” of the 2021 title.
Verstappen beat Hamilton to the 2021 championship by passing him on the last lap of the final race in a controversial finish.
The FIA later acknowledged that “human error” by former race director Michael Masi had seen the restart procedure applied incorrectly, forcing a one-lap sprint. As a result, Masi was fired.
Verstappen did not speak to Sky Sports after qualifying on Saturday, having been informed of the comments, and will not do so on Sunday.
According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Verstappen also plans to do the same with Sky Sports Italia and Sky Sports Germany.
Verstappen and Red Bull have yet to confirm whether the boycott will continue beyond this weekend, with races in Brazil and Abu Dhabi this season.
On the show, Kravitz referred to Brad Pitt being in the paddock at the Circuit of the Americas and what a Hollywood-style script it would have been if Hamilton had claimed his first win of 2022 by beating Verstappen.
“[Hamilton] he doesn’t win a race all year, and finally returns to a track where he could win the first race of the year, fighting the same guy who won the race that was stolen from him the year before and manages to finish ahead his. .
“What a script and story that would have been. But that’s not how the script ended today, is it?
“Because the guy who hit him after he was stolen overtook him, because he has a faster car, because of engineering, Formula 1 and design, and almost because [Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s lead car designer] over there.”
It’s not the first time Verstappen has taken action against the media.
The Dutch driver boycotted Netflix after becoming unhappy with the depiction of driver rivalries in ‘Drive to Survive’, meaning he barely appeared in the series covering 2021 and his first championship.
Verstappen confirmed earlier this year that he is now ready to cooperate with Netflix this season after talks with the American company and F1 this year.
