Adrian Newey Slams Sky Sports for ‘Nationalistic’ F1 Coverage, Claims Bias Against Vettel and Verstappen

Adrian Newey has voiced his disapproval of Sky's F1 coverage, describing it as "nationalistic" towards Max Verstappen. He suggested that the British media might be partly to blame, noting that Sky holds significant global influence.

Adrian Newey has criticized Sky Sports for their "nationalistic" approach to F1 coverage, which he believes has resulted in the "demonization" of Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen over the years.

Since 2012, Sky has taken over the role of broadcasting Formula 1 in the UK from the BBC.

Sky entered the world of Formula 1 just as Red Bull, led by Vettel, was in the midst of securing four consecutive championships.

A decade later, Verstappen has clinched three straight drivers' championships and is aiming for a fourth in 2024.

Over the past ten years, Vettel and Verstappen have frequently been viewed as Lewis Hamilton's primary competitors, engaging in numerous championship contests and on-track clashes.

During the 2022 Mexico Grand Prix weekend, Red Bull decided to boycott Sky's coverage because they were displeased with a statement suggesting that Hamilton was "robbed" of the 2021 title.

During an appearance on the High Performance podcast, Newey shared his thoughts on why he believes Sky's broadcasting can impact the public perception of Vettel and Verstappen.

“Externally, I believe people don’t completely grasp and value Max, similar to how they misunderstood Sebastian,” stated Newey.

"Firstly, they were both unfairly vilified at different times."

"Perhaps part of the issue stems from the British media. To be frank, Sky has a significant global reach with an international audience, but their reporting tends to be rather nationalistic, which can have an impact."

Newey believes that Verstappen is still not fully appreciated, especially considering his ability to drive an F1 car almost instinctively, a quality that can be compared to Fernando Alonso.

"It's as if Verstappen can drive the car on autopilot," Newey remarked. "Obviously, he doesn't, but he has so much mental capacity left that he can focus on his driving techniques, manage the tyres, consider adjustments to the settings, or consult his race engineer over the radio for guidance while pointing out any issues."

“I still find race analysis captivating – Fernando is another person who has this ability; he seems to understand the race even without having all the data in front of him.”

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