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As the 2024 F1 title battle started to get intense, Max Verstappen ramped things up as well when he pointed out multiple times that 'he had the wrong passport' for the sport. The indication was around the seeming 'Britishness' of Formula 1, where many have claimed that there is an inherent bias within the sport when it comes to nationality.
With that being said, it's rare for one of the title contenders to make it a point to call it out publicly. 'British-Bias' in F1 is a topic that as a publication we've touched on quite a few times since things boiled over in 2021. The term was often used during the intense title battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton by the fans.
Max Verstappen publicly addressing this supposed bias in the sport is an interesting development. There are however both sides of what he got right when he made this argument and where he went horribly wrong. Let's take a look.
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Max Verstappen's 'British Bias' allegations
Where he was spot on
In light of the 'British Bias' in F1, one could argue that such a bias exists in the broadcast and the media. A large chunk of the publications covering the sport are based out of England, and the sport's official broadcast feed is Sky Sports, a British broadcaster.
This became glaringly obvious in the last decade or so during the coverage of the championship reigns that the non-British drivers Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen had. There's no one better than Adrian Newey, who talked about the "nationalistic coverage" of the sport in a recent interview.
Talking about the 'demonization' of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen on the High Performance Podcast in September, Newey said,
"I think from the outside I'm not sure people fully appreciate and understand Max just like they didn't with Sebastian. First of all, there's this sort of demonization both of them suffered at times. which I think is very unfair. And maybe that's also a little bit of the British media."
He added,
"This Sky (Sports) have a huge influence around the world. Their viewing figures, although their viewing is truly international but their coverage is quite nationalistic, that I say."
The problem does not essentially lie with Sky Sports or the other British publications, for that matter. Many argue that the problem lies with the FOM using a nationalistic feed for a global audience. For Sky, the revenue model and its growth depend on its subscribers in the UK, their coverage is going to lean towards that demographic. The same could be said for the Dutch, British, Italian, and French broadcasts.
Furthermore, several publications are based out of Britain. One of the more prestigious ones infamously wrote Max Verstappen an open letter to not crash into Lewis Hamilton on the eve of the 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP, leading to considerable backlash from fans.
The fact that Max Verstappen is willing to discuss this and call it out in the open is brilliant because now this is an issue that the FOM can address. One cannot do much about the editorial practices of the British publications, but the reigning world champion calling out the official broadcasters could help spark a change if the disgruntlement continues to grow.
Where he went wrong
There was, however, one area where Max Verstappen went wrong, and it was in calling out the integrity of the FIA stewards. While Max never specifically claimed that the steward in the F1 Mexican GP, Johnny Herbert, was biased against him. The inherent insinuation that he was penalized because he's got the wrong passport did not sit right.
For starters, the two penalties that Verstappen received in Mexico were warranted. The driver crossed the line in both of them, and a penalty was always coming. At that moment, when you are getting a justified penalty, should you use that moment to question the stewards and make it about your passport? The answer is, probably not.
Should FIA have a permanent stewards panel? Yes, it should. Should there be more consistency? Without a doubt. But does that mean the teams and the drivers start shouting foul play? The answer is a resounding no.
In essence, this negates a brilliant step that Max took when he called out the Sky Sports broadcast as he was arguing a lost cause and using nationality as a tool for it.
What is the way ahead?
The most important aspect of the way ahead is that the driver has to streamline what he's trying to communicate here. If he's able to specify what his gripe is when it comes to the F1 media in general and how the sport is covered, then that could potentially lead to change.
When it comes to the FIA stewards, if Max feels there is foul play, then there is no better time than this one to raise his voice in favor of a permanent stewards panel. The governing body should be held accountable for bringing in more consistency and being the benchmark on track, and a soon-to-be four-time world champion, Max Verstappen, is in a position now to be an authority of change in the sport.
Whether he does it or not is anybody's guess, but it's still important that the driver raised a very important issue within our sport, even if the execution could have been better.
