‘Ted’s Notebook’ is one of the most entertaining parts of Sky Sports’ F1 coverage, with Ted Kravitz gathering his thoughts and going on an unscripted walk around post-qualifying and post-race to discuss all things Formula 1.
This weekend however he has gone too far in the eyes of some, repeatedly questioning the legitimacy of Max Verstappen’s maiden title, and accusing then race director Michael Masi of ‘robbing’ Lewis Hamilton.
“He [Hamilton] gets robbed, comes back, his 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, battling the same guy who won the race he was robbed in the previous year, and manages to finish ahead of him,” said Kravitz, when discussing the possibility of Hamilton beating Verstappen at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Kravitz continues on about how Hamilton was ‘robbed’ of the 2021 title, which has led Verstappen and Red Bull to announce a boycott of all Sky Sports interviews, lasting indefinitely, labelling the comments as unprofessional.
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Footage has now emerged on social media of a similar incident of Sebastian Vettel getting a similar treatment after he won his fourth drivers’ championship with Red Bull.
Only minutes after being crowned champion in 2013, the Sky Sports commentary team make a comment about how the most valuable man in Formula One is on their screen, not referring to Vettel who had won nine back-to-back races that year, but to Adrian Newey, the man who designed the car.
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While at first it seems a valid point to praise the designer of a championship winning car, it comes across as if Sky Sports are almost refusing to credit Vettel for his good driving, instead suggesting he simply had the best car.
This is not the only time that Sky Sports have been accused of having favourites, with last year’s Christmas advert being heavily criticised by fans, with the ad simply being a slow motion shot of Verstappen crashing out of the British Grand Prix after being hit by Lewis Hamilton, an incident which hospitalised the Dutchman.
It remains to be seen how long Red Bull will keep up their boycott of the broadcasting company, or if Kravitz will apologise for his comments, however fans are beginning to notice a trend of bias against Red Bull and their drivers in their coverage, instead tending to favour the British hero Lewis Hamilton.