Rachel Brookes has confirmed her departure from her role as a reporter for Sky Sports F1 coverage, several days after detailing the "utterly horrendous" abuse she endured online following an interview with driver Max Verstappen.
Brookes, who has been a fixture in Sky Sports' Formula One broadcasts for 14 years, revealed her decision on social media. She stated her intention to pursue new ventures and remain involved in Formula One, with plans to attend the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July.
"I have left the Sky F1 team but F1 still has my heart & so I'll still be involved in it," Brookes wrote. "I'll keep you posted, in the meantime see you at Silverstone!"
The abuse stemmed from an interview with Verstappen conducted after the Spanish Grand Prix last May. During the race, Verstappen received a 10-second penalty for colliding with George Russell. Following commentary from Nico Rosberg suggesting the collision might have been deliberate, Brookes questioned Verstappen on camera.
"I said to Max, 'Was it deliberate?' And his response was, 'Does it matter?'" Brookes recounted on the Road to Success podcast. She pressed further, stating, "Yeah, I think it does to the fans watching and to the kids. I want people to see how good you are, and you make it difficult when you do stuff like that."
While Brookes received commendations from broadcasting peers for posing the question, a significant backlash from fans followed. She described receiving messages that were "horrific" and included personal attacks, with some suggesting she was a bad example. Brookes noted that much of the abuse came from profiles that appeared to be from fathers with children, leading her to close her social media comments.
Verstappen, who admitted to a "mistake" post-race, ultimately dropped from fifth to 10th place in the Spanish Grand Prix. He narrowly missed out on the world championship title that year, losing by two points to Lando Norris.