Max Verstappen: Martin Brundle ‘fully supports’ Sky colleague Ted Kravitz after Red Bull boycott

Max Verstappen stated that Sky’s coverage had been ‘disrespectful’ after Kravitz claimed Lewis Hamilton had been ‘robbed’ of last year’s World Championship

Martin Brundle has backed colleague Ted Kravitz after Red Bull boycotted Sky Sports during the Mexican Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen was unhappy after pit-lane reporter Kravitz claimed in his Notebook show the previous week that Lewis Hamilton had been “robbed” of an eighth world title after the controversial finish to last year’s Abu Dhabi GP.

The Dutchman, who claimed his first World Championship with a final-lap overtake on Hamilton after safety car and lapped car chaos, stated that Sky’s coverage had been “disrespectful”, resulting in the double world champion and team principal Christian Horner refusing to speak to Sky pundits in Mexico City.

But commentator Brundle, who has worked alongside Kravitz for over 26 years at ITV, BBC and now Sky, fully supported his colleague in a post on Twitter, adding that “face to face dialogue was the only way to sort issues and disputes” in a paddock he described as a “relentless crucible.”

“For the avoidance of doubt my friend and colleague for the past 26 years, Ted Kravitz has my full support,” Brundle said.

“Face to face dialogue is the only way to sort out issues and disputes in the relentless crucible of the F1 paddock.

“We all have opinions and different jobs to do, that’s life.”

Confronting the subject after he won for a record-breaking 14th time in one season on Sunday, Verstappen said: “It had nothing to do with this weekend but this year.

Martin Brundle has backed colleague Ted Kravitz after Red Bull boycotted Sky Sports during the Mexican Grand Prix (Getty Images)

“It has been a constant kind of digging and being disrespectful, especially from one particular person. At one point it is enough and I don’t accept it.

“You cannot live in the past and you have to move on. Social media is a very toxic place and if you are constantly being like that live on TV then you are making it worse instead of trying to make it better.

“You keep disrespecting me and at one point I will not tolerate it any more and that is why I decided to stop answering.”

Horner has however insisted that Red Bull’s stance was for one race only, with normal service resumed next week in Brazil for the penultimate Grand Prix of the 2022 season.