F1 Presenter addresses exit after ‘horrendous’ | Sports News

F1 presenter Rachel Brookes has damaged her silence on her resolution to depart Sky Sports after dealing with what she described as “horrendous” online abuse.

Brookes introduced in June that she had stepped down from her position as a Sky Sports F1 reporter, together with her departure coming simply days earlier than the Austrian Grand Prix. The 51-year-old had been a acquainted face on Sky’s protection for 14 years, repeatedly interviewing drivers earlier than and after races.

Speaking on Essential F1, Brookes defined that whereas her exit might have appeared sudden, it had been deliberate for some time and gave her the chance to say goodbye to a number of drivers. She recalled a significantly memorable exchange with Lewis Hamilton, who provided his assist earlier than embracing her within the paddock.

“It appeared very sudden, but it wasn’t,” Brookes mentioned. I had a likelihood to say goodbye to people within the paddock, to people I labored with, groups, drivers. I truly had a likelihood to say goodbye to Lewis. I had a beautiful chat with Lewis. I bought some time with Lewis to have a dialog. He was, as you’ll think about, actually, actually beautiful, very supportive. I will not expose the whole lot that was mentioned but it surely was caught by some photographers. He was, as you’ll think about, actually, actually beautiful, very supportive.

“I won’t divulge everything that was said but it was caught by some photographers. There’s a lovely photo at the end of it where he gives me a massive hug and he says ‘I hope I see you back in the paddock soon‘ which was really lovely. In Canada, I was finishing media in the TV interview pen and Charles Leclerc had just finished his written interviews and was just walking back out. I was stood by my camera and he just gave me the biggest hug. Didn’t say a word just gave me the biggest hug. So obviously someone had told him and I just said ‘thank you’ and he left.

“There were a few drivers I didn’t get to say goodbye to, just as it happened. I was at home the day after it had been announced and I get these little video messages from a couple of drivers as well, who said ‘we’re going to miss you’. It was really, really lovely. The paddock is a family. It’s an amazing place. I kind of didn’t think anyone would notice but the teams and the drivers, it is one big family and it is amazing. I was quite overwhelmed by the response from everybody.”

Brookes has confirmed she plans to stay concerned in Formula 1 regardless of leaving Sky Sports, telling followers she would share particulars of her subsequent enterprise sooner or later.

Her departure got here days after she revealed the “utterly horrendous” abuse she obtained following an interview with Max Verstappen final season. Despite the backlash she obtained, Brookes insisted the abuse was not a think about her resolution to depart Sky Sports. “It was nothing to do with comments and abuse I got online last year at all, Brookes said. “That was resolved very quickly, and I’ve got a great relationship with Max. So absolutely nothing to do with that. I know a lot of people thought that, and there were some articles written. Absolutely not the case at all.

Brookes spoke to the four-time world champion after last May’s Spanish Grand Prix, where Verstappen was handed a 10-second penalty for colliding with Mercedes’ George Russell. After former world champion Nico Rosberg suggested during commentary that the incident may have been deliberate, Brookes put the claim to Verstappen during her post-race interview. “I got a lot of messages from people in broadcasting, in sports broadcasting, saying: ‘Well done for asking the question,’ Brookes said. Because nobody else in that pen that day asked him that question – and even my colleagues said they wouldn’t have asked that question, because they’d have been too scared to ask it.

“But then the fans, the social media side of it, was horrendous. I got people telling me I should never be able to have children because I’m a bad example. I got the most horrific stuff you could imagine. ‘And this is from a lot of these profiles with dads with kids with daughters and things like that, where you just look at it and think: ‘Take a step back. It’s a Formula 1 race. It’s sport’.’But the stuff I got sent was horrendous, utterly horrendous. So I just closed my comments.”