"There was a mention of social media stuff": Johnny Herbert hints F1 fan's perception played a role in Sky Sports axe

F1 pundit Johnny Herbert claims fan perceptions played a role in him getting axed from his job at Sky Sports. The Briton was dropped from Sky Sports' presenting team ahead of the new season after 11 long years in the business.

After the broadcaster secured the rights to broadcast F1 in the UK from the 2012 season, Herbert became a regular part of Sky's coverage of the sport. However, he and Paul di Resta were not included in the team, as their contracts were not renewed.

When Mirror Sport inquired about the reason behind this decision, Sky declined to comment and Herbert himself was unaware of the reason.

Herbert believes F1 fans' perception of him on social media might have played a part in his axing, he told The Mirror:

"I didn’t decide to step away – I thought everything was going ahead! And then I got a call in December, I think it was, when I was told things were changing. It wasn't explained why or what was changing. There was a mention of social media stuff and that was about it, really."

"I don't really know. I was always aware – at Sky they do these subscriber checks where you're given points out of 10 – and I've always known I was always quite popular on that side. It's a shame, but I'm over it. Moving on."

Official: F1 to trial new race weekend format in Baku as teams reach agreement

F1 teams have reached an agreement to introduce a new race weekend format, which will be trialed in Baku. This Sprint race weekend will feature an additional qualifying session, replacing the traditional FP2 on Saturday in Azerbaijan.

The decision to modify the schedule for the first Sprint race weekend of the season in Baku had already been confirmed before the Australian GP. Currently, the Sprint weekend follows a set format, including FP1 and qualifying on Friday, followed by FP2 and the Sprint on Saturday, and the Grand Prix on Sunday.

Under the new proposal, the existing FP2 session on Saturday will be replaced by a new qualifying session for the Sprint race. Qualifying for the main race will take place on Friday.

The proposal aims to eliminate the unnecessary FP2 session on Saturday morning due to the Parc Ferme restrictions enforced after Friday's qualifying, which limits the teams' ability to make changes to their cars.

Reports suggest that the ten F1 team leaders convened before the Australian GP on Sunday to consider this schedule adjustment. The new plan for the Baku race weekend will feature a fresh qualifying session on Saturday using the three-round elimination format.