Johnny Herbert recalls Red Bull’s Sky boycott and “treading carefully” on TV

Red Bull and Max Verstappen notably boycotted interviews last season from Sky Sports, the UK broadcaster of Formula 1, and Herbert’s then-employers.

It was believed to be a response to comments from Ted Kravitz, and it resulted in top bosses from Sky and Red Bull meeting to end the tension.

“I was always free to express what I wanted,” Herbert told the Daily Express.

“But… if everybody said on TV on Channel 4 or Sky, or anyone, if you sort of had a bit of a go at a team they will get upset. 

“And if they get upset there’s always a chance, like we saw with Max, ‘oh we're not going to do it with you because you said that’. 

“That's where you sort of have to sometimes tread carefully.

“But it's understandable. I always remember when I was racing there were sometimes things said which upset you and then you probably never spoke to that journalist maybe for a couple of races or more.

“So I get it but when it's down to a team. I always think you should be able to be as outspoken as you want to be in certain situations.

"I always thought I was fairly outspoken on certain issues that came up. I never thought you should shy away from them.

“Some people don't want to upset a certain person within a team because they sort of had a relationship. 

“And you sort of think it shouldn’t be about your relationship, it should be about what you see and what you hear from fans.”

Herbert was axed from Sky’s line-up of experts for the 2023 season and now hosts the Lift The Lid podcast with Billy Monger.

He says it is nice not worrying about “upsetting people” in his new role.