“It was disgusting” - Sky Sports’ coverage of Max Verstappen and Red Bull justifies their boycott, says F1 pundit
F1 pundit Ruud Dimmers has come out in support of Max Verstappen's boycott of Sky Sports at the Mexican GP.
During the race weekend in Mexico, both Red Bull and Verstappen declined any interaction with Sky Sports. Talking about the same, racingnews365's Dimmers replied to a poll conducted by the publication on whether the boycott was justified or not.
Not just Max Verstappen but Red Bull team - including Christian Horner - will not speak to Sky Sports at today’s Mexican GP. Boycott is “indefinite”.
With an overwhelming majority saying that the boycott was justified, Dimmers doubled down on why Verstappen and Red Bull were pushed to take such a step. He said:
"The championship was last year. It's over. The race management has died. It's done, and you can't turn it back. This was it."
He added by saying that even the Dutch broadcast could be pro-Verstappen, but as the English language gives Sky Sports a global audience, it changes things significantly. He said:
"Of course, we are a bit more pro-Max, and Tom is sometimes accused of that. I think you always keep that. Sky is an international club, of which this is the English branch, but English-speaking is much more than just the United Kingdom. That is global and therefore has a global reach. They reach hundreds of millions of people with their quotes and statements. Then I think you have to be a little more objective."
Max Verstappen is not happy with Ted Kravitz and Sky Sports. 😐
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Ruud touched on how Sky Sports' controversial, pro-Lewis Hamilton takes last season and Verstappen crashing during the 2021 British GP with 'Merry Christmas' written over were in poor taste. He said:
" It's not the first thing that happened now. Lewis was hardly accused of anything by the English media. They actually thought the punishment was too heavy. Then at one point you got the Christmas greeting from Sky. It was disgusting. The images of Max crashing in Copse Corner with the text 'Merry Christmas' on top ... they were seriously called to the attention at Red Bull, so it has been bubbling for much longer. There is a certain amount of 'over the top' in it, and that is not necessary."
Verstappen has been the standout driver this season, winning a record 14 races, including the Mexican GP on Sunday.
Max Verstappen provided great spectacle with Lewis Hamilton last season - Ruud Dimmers
Ruud Dimmers said that one has to be objective in the way they broadcast and if the Dutch presenters started discrediting Lewis Hamilton's titles, it would not look good. He said:
"I think you always try to be objective. and do you ever have orange glasses with it? Maybe you can. and that can be done in a podcast, for example, a little more than in an analysis, but if we now say that Lewis's seven titles got a gift. And that he only had to beat a Valtteri Bottas once to become champion? Then you do him so short, and you do the same with Max. Last year, Max had a great season and provided a lot of spectacle with Lewis."
Verstappen's boycott of Sky Sports has brought to light a lot of things about the sport, and it will be interesting to see how things proceed from here.