Johnny Herbert wonders whether Damon Hill left Sky Sports F1 because of the “crazy level of abuse” he received following his views on Max Verstappen’s actions. His friend and former colleague at Sky Sports announced his exit in the days after making a boisterous appearance during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend where he heavily critised Verstappen’s driving style.
The Brit made many negative comments about Verstappen’s driving style and once compared him to Wacky Races villain cartoon character Dick Dastardly. Verstappen hit back during the press conference explaining that he knows what he’s doing as he is a three-time World Champion. Hill also highlighted how a number of rules were introduced because of the Dutchman’s behaviour.
After Verstappen won the Brazilian Grand Prix in impressive style, Hill posted on social media about the Dutchman silencing a few critics. Fans replied to Hill’s comment cynically. For example, someone asked “including you?” and someone else stated “including yourself?”. Some wonder if Hill himself realises that he is among Verstappen’s critics and others pointed to Verstappen jokingly noting that there was no British press present at the press conference.
Did Hill leave because of the criticism he got for his views on Verstappen?
Herbert, who also used to work as a pundit for Sky Sports F1, knew that Hill has always questioned why he was a pundit. “Damon Hill has been saying ever since he started in 2012 that he wondered why he was doing the punditry. Every year he said he wasn’t sure whether he would do it again. And every year for the next 12 he came back! I don’t know whether it was his decision or Sky’s, to be honest,” Herbert told FlashScore USA.
“Was it an enjoyment factor? Potentially. I know he got criticism for the Max scenarios and maybe he felt, ‘You know what I don’t need that.’ He was very unhappy at the crazy level of abuse he got over his Max comments. Damon has a son with Down’s Syndrome and he does a lot of work for the Halow Project. A lot of the hate I was getting for my criticism of Max’s driving came through social media channels linked to the charity. That was ridiculous,” Herbert continued.
Herbert has experienced it himself in recent weeks as well after being a steward in Mexico and Brazil. “People were going through the Halow charity Instagram account to get to me. Maybe all that negativity made him decide. My critics also used the BRDC account to get to me about the time penalties, qualifying in Brazil, and starting low down the grid. We were accused of being biased against Max,” he added.
Hill went on to say he sees no reason as to why Sky Sports would’ve wanted to get rid of him. “Knowledge is very important. You have Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion. Why would you not want him part of it because of the knowledge he has gained through the good and bad times? I only won three Grand Prix but my knowledge and experience of really dark times when I had my accident and the best of times when I finished fourth in the driver’s championship, helped me. There has been a shift and there are a lot more women in the paddock which is a good thing. But experience pays dividends for the fans who are watching,” he concluded.
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