Reports in the media have emerged claiming that double Formula 1 Champion Max Verstappen has refused to be interviewed by broadcaster Sky Sports in Mexico.
A report by Dutch publication De Telegraaf claimed that Verstappen was unhappy with comments made by Sky Sport F1’s Ted Kravitz the reporter said at the 2022 United States Grand Prix.
It seems that Kravitz said that Verstappen has “robbed” Lewis Hamilton of the race win in Abu Dhabi’s 2021 F1 season finale.
As a reminder, Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the final lap of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix following a Safety Car period that was controversially administered by former Race Director Michael Masi, for which the Australian was sacked following an FIA investigation.
This matter has been dividing opinions ever since and this seems that Kravitz’s comments have sparked another wave of controversy, with the F1 paddock still trying to move on from Red Bull’s 2021 cost cap breach.
For reference, Kravtiz’s comments that reportedly upset the Red Bull ace came in the former’s feature “Ted’s Notebook” after the race in Austin where the reporter commented on the showdown between Hamilton and the Verstappen towards the end of the race.
Kravtiz said: “[Hamilton] 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.
“What a script and a story that would have been. But that’s not the way the script turned out today, was it?
“Because the guy that beat him after being robbed actually overtook him, because he’s got a quicker car, because of engineering and Formula One and design, and pretty much because of [Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s lead car designer] over there,” Kravitz added.
There has been no official statement from Verstappen or Red Bull on the matter.