F1 News: Adrian Newey Critiques Sky Sports F1 for 'Demonizing' Verstappen and Vettel

Adrian Newey, the Chief Technical Officer at Red Bull Racing , has publicly criticized Sky Sports F1 for what he perceives as biased coverage of Formula 1 drivers Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel. In a recent podcast interview, Newey accused the network of "demonizing" the two drivers and suggested that the British media often frames its reporting with a nationalistic slant that undermines the accomplishments of non-British athletes.

“I think from the outside I’m not sure people fully appreciate and understand Max, just like they didn’t with Sebastian," Newey said as quoted by Planet F1.

“First of all, there’s this sort of demonisation both of them suffered at times, which I think is very unfair, and maybe that’s also a little bit of the British media, if I’m honest.

“Sky have a huge influence around the world, their viewing is truly international, but their coverage is quite nationalistic dare I say, and that can have an influence.

“It’s this thing that now with journalism typically, there is that trend to sort of either put people on a pedestal or knock them down.”

After 18 successful years at Red Bull, Newey will transition to Aston Martin in March 2025 as a managing technical partner and shareholder. Reflecting on his career, he praised Verstappen's extraordinary driving intelligence and processing power in race situations. Newey emphasized that these skills often go underappreciated by the public, comparing Verstappen’s abilities to those of Fernando Alonso.

“I think that he’s very intelligent, and he’s got an incredible ability to… It almost feels as if he can drive the car automatic.

“He doesn’t, of course, but he can drive the car and has so much processing power left over that he can then think a lot about how he’s driving the car, how he’s looking after the tyres, what he might need to do on the settings, or if he doesn’t, if he’s not sure, ask GP [race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase] on the radio what he should be doing, but highlighting the problems. Reading the race. It still fascinates me.

“Fernando is another one that can do that, that seems to be able to read the race, but they haven’t got all the stuff in front of them. How do they do that? I don’t know.

Related: F1 News: Financial Integrity Maintained as FIA Reports 2023 Cost Cap Compliance

Newey's candid comments add depth to the conversation about media accountability and the impact of biased narratives on the global reception of Formula 1 drivers. As he moves on to his next role with Aston Martin, his insights remain a strong reminder of the power of media in shaping the legacies of sports stars.