Rally driver Christine Giampaoli Zonca has incredibly jumped to the defence of Sky Sports Italia pundits Matteo Bobbi and 2012 GP2 Champion Davide Valsecchi, who were both suspended by the broadcaster for the Canadian Grand Prix.
The two former drivers were suspended by Sky after making sexist remarks directed at Zonca during their coverage of last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, after labelling her as a “nice package of updates”.
“I want to tell Davide that behind him there is a nice package of updates, if he turns around,” ex-Minardo test driver Bobbi said.
Valsecchi turned around as requested and replied: “Unfortunately they told me that you can’t test them.”
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The duo were dropped following their comments and have since apologised for offending “women and Sky”.
The incident has taken a bizarre turn though, as it turns out that not only does Zonca condone their suspension, but she knows the duo.
“When I read about their suspension I thought it was a joke,” Zonca told Corriere della Sera newspaper.
“I wasn’t offended. It was a joke. This all seems so over the top.”
Incredibly, Zonca is trying to have their suspension cancelled, due to believing that Sky’s reaction was “over the top”.
She added that she’ll make a “couple of jokes” directed at the duo during the Canadian GP, in a video with the pundits.
Zonca added: “At the next race, I’ll send a video together with Bobbi and Valsecchi so maybe this time I’ll be the one to make a couple of jokes about them.”
Zonca went on to reveal that a woman she was with in the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya paddock at the time “doesn’t want to talk but she too didn’t take it badly”, adding to her case to get the pundits back on TV next weekend in Montreal.
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She insists that the entire reaction to the incident “seems so exaggerated”, with her having written to the duo to stress that she wasn’t offended at all and is instead “sorry” for their punishment.
“When I found out about this and discovered that what I heard was true, I was sorry,” she admitted. “They are two good commentators. It all seems so exaggerated to me.
“I know them and I wrote to them right away,” Zonca added.