Martin Brundle hits back after Verstappen and Newey British media bias accusations
Martin Brundle interviews Max Verstappen
Put to him that Sky’s F1 coverage is naturally leant towards the British drivers, Martin Brundle denied that theory.
Brundle has become an iconic voice and personality of Formula 1 coverage in the UK, and has been a stalwart of Sky’s F1 coverage since it picked up the live broadcasting rights in 2012, with their coverage also simulcasted in key markets such as the United States. However, the neutrality of the British F1 press has been questioned in recent months.
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Former Red Bull design guru Adrian Newey, who is heading to Aston Martin from F1 2025, claimed on a recent episode of the High Performance Podcast that Sky’s coverage is “nationalistic” and to the detriment of Red Bull’s multi-time World Champions Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.
“I think from the outside I’m not sure people fully appreciate and understand Max, just like they didn’t with Sebastian,” said Newey.
“First of all, there’s this sort of demonisation both of them suffered at times, which I think is very unfair, and maybe that’s also a little bit of the British media, if I’m honest.
“Sky have a huge influence around the world, their viewing is truly international, but their coverage is quite nationalistic dare I say, and that can have an influence.
“It’s this thing that now with journalism typically, there is that trend to sort of either put people on a pedestal or knock them down.”
To that Newey “British media” bias claim, Verstappen confirmed that “I basically agree 100 per cent, yes”, while he took the opportunity after his stunning victory in Brazil to land a savage dig at the British press, as the title hopes of McLaren’s Lando Norris effectively came to an end.
As the post-race press conference ended, Verstappen, addressing the Brazilian journalists, said: “I have a quick question here.
“I mean, I appreciate all of you being here, but I don’t see any British press.
“Did they have to run to the airport — or they don’t know where the press conference is?”
And while appearing on the Sky F1 podcast, it was put to their co-commentator and pundit Brundle by presenter Matt Baker that: “We, as a British broadcaster, we try to tell the story of British drivers just with perhaps a bit more detail. Is that fair?”
Brundle thinks not.
“No, I don’t think we do,” he responded.
“I don’t think there’s any… I mean, I’m a Brit. I’m a former British Formula 1 driver, and we’re broadcasting primarily to a British broadcaster. Others take our feed all the way around the world. So, do we?
“We’re nothing like… When I watch the Olympics or the World Cup or the European Cup, obviously, your commentators are fervently pro whichever country they’re from. I don’t think we do that. I like to think we’re pretty balanced. I really do.
“And actually, we get flack from pretty much everybody, because what I have learned in these 27, 28 years is that you can say 1000 positive things about somebody and one negative will get back to them and their fans get onto it, or their family and friends tell them. And I get a few cool, sideways glances sometimes.
“Nobody ever comes up to you and says, ‘Thank you very much for what you said about us.'”
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Nobody other than 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg anyway, even if he did not know what he was thanking Brundle for.
“I did have it once, actually,” Brundle continued. “It was Nico Rosberg, and he came up to me in Malaysia, a million years ago, said, ‘I’d like to thank you for what you said about me last weekend.’
“I said, ‘Okay, I really appreciate that, because I’ve got to be honest with you, you’re the first driver that’s ever said anything to me like that. And by the way, the last.’
“I said, ‘If you don’t mind, what did I say that you liked? Just for my reference?’ He said, ‘I don’t know. My mum told me I needed to thank you.’ So actually, I still haven’t been thanked by a driver for something!”
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