With the 2021 F1 season heading towards a gripping finale, tensions between Red Bull driver Max Verstappen and the British media have been simmering for a while.
Stevenage-born Lewis Hamilton is competing for a record eighth championship and only Verstappen stands in his way, with both drivers heading into the final race in Abu Dhabi tied on points.
Sky Sports UK, who are the official broadcasters of the F1 season (apart for the final race which will be free-to-air in UK), came out with an advert that showed Verstappen’s crash with Hamilton in Silverstone and titled it ‘Merry Christmas’.
The result of this crash saw Max in hospital while Hamilton later cruised to victory.
The way Hamilton behaved that day did not go down too well with Verstappen or Red Bull. The team appears unhappy with the fact that Sky Sports has used this footage in the advert.
“We are very disappointed that images of an accident in which someone ended up in hospital are being used,” the team’s spokesperson said.
merry christmas max 🙂 greetings from Sky F1 ✨ pic.twitter.com/YEDpQOHJDU
— autohan (@_autohan) December 3, 2021
“This is in very bad taste. We hope it will be removed soon.”
The Telegraph later revealed that the advert had been removed by Sky following a conversation with Red Bull.
Was Hamilton’s celebration justified?
Verstappen had taken to Twitter following the crash and expressed his disappointment with how Hamilton celebrated after the race.
“Very disappointed with being taken out like this. The penalty given does not help us and doesn’t do justice to the dangerous move Lewis made on track,” he had written.
“Watching the celebrations while still in hospital is disrespectful and unsportsmanlike behaviour but we move on.”
It is no secret that the British media has been accused of portraying Verstappen as the bad guy in the title race.
Horner accused Hill of partiality
Red Bull boss Christian Horner recently even targeted Sky pundit Damon Hill for how he always seemed to point a finger at Verstappen and showed clear partiality.
Glad I’m ok. Very disappointed with being taken out like this. The penalty given does not help us and doesn’t do justice to the dangerous move Lewis made on track. Watching the celebrations while still in hospital is disrespectful and unsportsmanlike behavior but we move on pic.twitter.com/iCrgyYWYkm
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) July 18, 2021
“We’ve got a British driver going for a record-breaking world championship,” Horner said.
“And Damon obviously has never been a fan of Max… If you talk to the Dutch then Max can walk on water. That’s just the way things are reported. And, you know, sometimes impartiality does get lost.
“It’s something that’s been noticeable over the last couple of years. But everybody has a right to an opinion. You know, it’s a free world. And, as I said to Damon, I’m the type of person that, if I don’t agree with your opinion, I’m not just going to roll over.”
This little feud has undoubtedly added an extra edge to the championship decider that is set to take place in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.