There is simply no stopping Max Verstappen from complete 2022 domination, as the imperious Dutchman claimed yet another victory with ease at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Verstappen sealed his fourth win at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with relative ease, with the race having been by far one of the most boring of the season so far.
Due to drivers struggling to follow one another, overtaking was near impossible at the Mexico City venue, making for yet another lights-to-flag victory for the 25-year-old.
His win in Mexico marked number 14 of the 2022 season, meaning he eclipsed Sebastian Vettel’s and Michael Schumacher’s joint record for the most wins in a single season.
READ: Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton leave fans cringing after Mexican GP
Whilst everything was smooth sailing on-track, it was certainly the complete opposite off it.
Red Bull decided to boycott speaking to any Sky broadcaster during the weekend in Mexico, as a result of the Dutchman feeling that the pundits and reporters were being “disrespectful”.
The whole situation is based seemingly on the 2021 season finale and Sky’s coverage of the ‘Cashgate’ scandal, where the Austrians were found to have made a ‘minor’ breach of the 2021 budget cap.
It was revealed last Thursday that the leading side would be fined $7 million and given a 10-percent reduction in aerodynamic research, as a result of exceeding the cap.
One reporter in particular seriously ruffled Verstappen’s feathers, Ted Kravitz.
During a recent episode of ‘Ted’s Notebook’, where the Sky reporter gives a quick rundown of each team after every session, Kravitz continued to refer to Lewis Hamilton as an eight-time World Champion and that he was “robbed”.
The constant criticism has clearly gotten on top of Verstappen, which resulted in the 2022 Constructors’ Champions revealing that they’d be refusing to talk to Sky in Mexico.
Verstappen revealed after the race why he refused to talk to them, highlighting “one particular person”, who many would guess to be Kravitz.
“It had nothing to do with this weekend, but this year it’s been a constant kind of like digging, being disrespectful, especially one particular person,” Verstappen explained after winning his 14th race of the season.
“And at one point it is enough, I don’t accept it.
“You can’t live in the past, you just have to move on. At the moment social media is a very toxic place and if you are constantly being like that live on TV, you make it constantly worse, instead of trying to make it better in the world.
“You keep disrespecting me and at one point I’m not tolerating it anymore. So that’s why I decided to stop answering.”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner also explained that the entire team were behind Verstappen’s decision, with the Brit labelling Sky as “unfair”.
“I think an accusation of championships being robbed is something that we don’t feel is an impartial commentary,” Horner said.
READ: Toto Wolff holds his hands up for mistake which angered Lewis Hamilton
“That is, we don’t feel, in any way fair or balanced.
“Max was very upset about it, and as a team, we support him fully. We were equally upset about it. As a team, we took the decision this weekend, I took the decision that we’ll have a weekend off.”
Red Bull will resume interviews with all Sky broadcasters at the Brazilian Grand Prix.