F1 News: Max Verstappen refuses Sky Sports interviews after Ted Kravitz rant – F1 Briefings
Max Verstappen will not speak with Sky Sports in the F1 paddock, according to a recent report, following the comments made by Ted Kravitz after the American GP.
Ted Kravitz has developed something of a reputation for his comments and remarks against Max Verstappen, with the Sky UK employee making several digs against the Dutchman throughout the season.
Kravitz maintains that Lewis Hamilton was “robbed” of the 2021 World Championship, and mentions this on a relatively frequent basis in his analysis and commentary for Sky Sports UK.
These were some of his comments at COTA last weekend, where Kravitz explained what could have been “the script” in the American GP:
“7-time World Champion – I almost said 8-time World Champion – 7-time World Champion [Lewis Hamilton], goes into the final race trying to be the greatest of all time, and win [the] championship.
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“He gets robbed, comes back, his next year’s car is rubbish… Doesn’t win a race all year and then finally comes back at a track where he could win the first race all year.
“Is battling with the same guy [Verstappen] who won the race that he was robbed in [Abu Dhabi] in the previous year and manages to finish ahead of him.
“What a script and a story that would have been.”
Different media outlets and broadcasters have their driver preferences and biases, so it cannot be described as unusual for Kravitz to have his own interpretation of events.
With that said, it seems Verstappen believes that some of his statements have crossed the line and is now unwilling to tolerate such comments or entertain the Sky F1 team.
Some have criticised Kravitz’s comments as being excessively critical and petulant for a professional communicating with such a vast audience.
Verstappen is also understood to be boycotting the Italian and German branches of Sky F1, as a consequence of his frustrations with Sky UK’s Ted Kravitz.
It remains to be seen how this situation will develop and whether either party will comment or elaborate on this development.