Reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen is known for his honest, sometimes hot-headed responses in interviews, and with four drivers’ titles to his name who can blame him?
But his history with Sky F1 reporter Ted Kravitz, and much of the British F1 media in general, could be argued to be his most consistent rivalry off-track. So, where do the Dutchman’s frustrations originate from?
Having achieved his maiden drivers’ title victory by the skin of his teeth in 2021 (don’t worry there’s more on that later) Verstappen was then catapulted to the forefront of the F1 circus and often portrayed as the sport’s villain. Much of this was due to his role in fronting Red Bull’s championship domination in 2022 and 2023, with the Dutchman claiming back-to-back titles and at times almost single-handedly keeping the team afloat as they also claimed two consecutive constructors’ championships.
Despite the success of Christian Horner‘s F1 team, 2023 was undoubtedly a snoozefest and one of the worst outcomes for the sport thanks to their domination.
That year, Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez claimed two grand prix victories but Verstappen swept up the record for the highest percentage of wins across a single campaign.
He won 19 out of 22 races in 2023 and was only beaten to the top step of the podium by one non-Red Bull driver, Carlos Sainz, who crossed the finish line at the Singapore GP P1 in his Ferrari whilst Verstappen only managed fifth.
Max Verstappen has dominated the sport in recent years
Max Verstappen vs Sky F1
Verstappen headed into the 2025 season with four consecutive championships under his belt and although a record-equalling fifth looks tricky, it could still be done and the Dutchman should never be ruled out.
After 10 seasons in the sport, Verstappen has become increasingly irate over the ‘entertainment’ elements that come with the job – whether it be his absence from multiple F1 movie events, his disdain at showpiece events like the Miami or Vegas GP’s or notably, his blunt responses to Sky F1.
Most recently, Verstappen was involved in another bust-up with Kravitz, when the champion questioned the Ted’s Notebook host’s line of enquiry in just the latest of the pair’s awkward encounters.
After a controversial Spanish GP, Verstappen was asked ahead of the Canadian GP whether he would be talking to the person currently conducting sporting director duties at Red Bull, Stephen Knowles, about the decision to let Russell through in the latter stages of the race.
That decision was later confirmed to be wrong by the FIA, a point Kravitz highlighted to Verstappen, to which he did not take kindly.
He may just be fiercely loyal over his Red Bull team and didn’t agree with Kravitz’s ‘singling out’ of one team member, but Verstappen appears to have grown tired of Sky Sports.
During the Spanish GP weekend Kravitz’s colleague Rachel Brookes also found herself in Verstappen’s firing line, with the champion clearly not happy about being asked about the incident in Barcelona so frequently.
Brookes implied that Verstappen’s turn into Russell, which appeared intentional, ‘took a shine off’ his many achievements in the sport, tarnishing his reputation and leading a bad example for children watching at home.
The reporter also opted for the bold question of asking Verstappen if he crashed into Russell intentionally, to which the Red Bull star responded: “Does it matter?”
Abu Dhabi 2021 and Red Bull boycott
Verstappen boycotted Sky Sports, albeit for just one race weekend, at the 2022 Mexican Grand Prix to take a stand over Kravitz’s comments about the circumstances in which Verstappen claimed his maiden championship.
The hotly-contested 2021 title decider in Abu Dhabi is still a sensitive subject in the sport to this day and will send shivers down the spine of any die-hard Hamilton fan should you mention it.
Red Bull took action after Ted Kravitz’s Abu Dhabi 2021 comments
The seven-time champion was set for a record-breaking eighth victory which would confirm him to be the greatest driver the sport had ever seen, but after a crash from Nicholas Latifi, race director at the time Michael Masi improvised the rules of the safety car deployment in the final laps, and Verstappen won the race on the last lap, stealing the title.
Masi was removed from his position following the controversy, with the FIA citing ‘human error’ after an investigation into the events at the season finale.
Kravitz referred to this controversial moment in one of his popular notebook segments, stating that Hamilton had been ‘robbed’, joking that he nearly called him an eight-time champion.
This triggered Red Bull’s short boycott of Sky Sports, with team principal Horner announcing that his team would resume interviews with Sky at the 2022 Brazilian GP, but called for a ‘balance in commentary’ moving forward.
