Sky Sports F1 commentator addresses questions about British bias within the sport's coverage as claimed by Adrian Newey and Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen and Adrian Newey's recent comments about British media's bias towards British drivers and teams has sent ripples across the Formula 1 fraternity. In their statements, the two F1 personalities claimed that the non-British teams and drivers face partiality from the British media. Addressing the issue recently, David Croft explained how he tries to be impartial and carries out his job without being biased.

Over the years, Red Bull and Verstappen reportedly faced a lot of wrath from Sky Sports, especially from Ted Kravitz. The British F1 journalist during one of his post-race analysis shows commented that Lewis Hamilton was robbed of his 2021 F1 championship.

Citing this, the Austrian team and their Dutch star driver boycotted Sky Sports F1 for a week in 2022. Most recently, in 2024, Newey claimed that the British media demonized non-British drivers such as Max Verstappen, and former F1 star Sebastian Vettel.

However, Croft has addressed these allegations. During a recent interaction with SpeedCafe, the Sky Sports F1 journalist said:

"I will try and follow the story, it’s as simple as that. You try and follow the story wherever that story might be, and Formula 1 is unique in that there are many different stories that happen during the course of the race."

Following this, he added how he finds it difficult to stay impartial to a wide range of the audience:

“It’s really difficult to prove whether you’re impartial or not because we all watch with a bias. We all watch with our own bias and our own perceptions of a comment or a statement that somebody makes. And when you’re trying sometimes to be neutral, someone will perceive that in a completely different way."

Notably, Sky Sports F1 broadcasts Formula 1 to a vast majority of audiences around the globe, including Australia. However, the global feed is produced by F1 from their Biggin Hill facility in the United Kingdom. Sky F1 takes the feed, mixes it with their coverage, and puts them out for viewers.

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Max Verstappen "absolutely" agreed that British bias exists

Lando Norris of McLaren leads Max Verstappen of Red Bull. Credit: Getty Images

Following Adrian Newey's admission, Max Verstappen jumped in to support his former tech boss. The Dutch driver was of the opinion that media bias in the sport exists. Speaking about this, he told Viaplay:

"Absolutely. I agree 100%. see it like this: if 85% of the media is Dutch, then you secretly always have a bias for a Dutchman doing better than everybody else and in terms of discussions you will always defend your countryman instead of others. That’s just the way it is, you know that as well."

Verstappen pointed out the British bias countless times during his rivalry with Lewis Hamilton in the 2021 season. Now, coming into 2024, another British driver Lando Norris' emergence as a title contender has brought the reported bias to the forefront.