The Revelation: Max Verstappen made claims about a bias towards British drivers in Formula 1. Let’s explore what he got correct and where his arguments fell short.

Exposed: Max Verstappen claims there is bias against British drivers in F1. Let’s take a look at where he got it right and where his arguments didn’t hold up. – Tony Mediahub As the race for the 2024 Formula 1 championship heats up, Max Verstappen has repeatedly made it clear that his nationality is causing him distress, stressing that he does not have the necessary passport for the sport and alluding to F1’s alleged preference for British drivers. Yet few of the key participants are open about it.

“British bias” in F1 is a theme we’ve spoken about frequently since tensions began to mount in 2021. The term was frequently used by fans during the close battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Interestingly, Max Verstappen spoke out about this alleged bias in the sport. There are mixed opinions on what he said. Let’s take a look at them.

Many believe there is a “British bias” towards F1, especially in the way the sport is broadcast and covered by the media. Most of the publications that report F1 are in the UK, and the official sports broadcast is performed by Sky Sports, a British television network.

The bias has recently been clearly observed in recent years, when British drivers such as Sebastian Vetnik and Max First Pun dominated the championship. Adrian Newi even mentioned in the recent interview with the issue of Nationalist.

“Just as I wasn’t Sebastian, people don’t fully understand Max and are not grateful. Both have been unfairly demonised, particularly by the British media. » He added:

Sky Sports has a huge influence around the world. Their viewership is high internationally, but their coverage tends to be heavily focused on domestic events.”
The problem isn’t necessarily with Sky Sports or other British publications. Some see it as FOM’s use of a nationalistic feed to a global audience. Sky’s revenue model and growth is dependent on its UK subscribers, so their coverage tends to focus on that demographic.

The same goes for Dutch, UK, Italian and French broadcasts. Additionally, many publications are based in the U.K. A major publisher wrote an open letter to Max Verstappen advising him not to crash into Lewis Hamilton ahead of the 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, sparking a backlash from fans. Max Verstappen openly discussing this issue is great because now FOM can fix this problem. While we can’t control the editorial practices of British publications, the reigning world champion standing up to official broadcasters could potentially lead to change if discontent continues to grow. However, Max Verstappen made a mistake by questioning the integrity of the FIA ​​commissioner. He did not directly accuse Johnny Herbert, the intention of Mexico’s GP F1, which means that his nationality was not appropriate. Verstappen deserved to be penalized twice in Mexico for crossing the line twice, and perhaps it was not the right time to challenge the stewards and raise the issue of nationality when he was rightly punished. Should the FIA ​​have a permanent panel of stewards? I really should. Do we need to be more consistent? Definitely. But does this mean that teams and drivers should be accused of foul play? The answer is clear: no. Essentially, it misses the sensible action taken by Max when he criticised the Sky Sports broadcast while simultaneously championing a lost cause and using his nationality as a tool. What is most important going forward is for drivers to be clear about what they mean and what they mean. If he can explain his concerns about the way F1 is covered by the media and the FIA ​​commissioner, that could change. If Max believes the FIA ​​stewards have made a mistake, now is the perfect time for him to speak out in favour of a standing committee being set up. With future four-time world champion Max Verstappen now in a position to lead change in the sport, governing bodies must be tasked with ensuring consistency on the track and setting standards.

Whether he does so remains to be seen, but even if he could have done better, it remains important that a driver has raised an important issue in our sport.