F1 News: David Coulthard Criticises Red Bull For 2022 Sky Sports Boycott - "Very Blinkered View On Life"
Former F1 driver David Coulthard has criticised Red Bull team principal Christian Horner for the teams Sky Sports boycott in 2022.
Coulthard spoke out about the situation during an interview with The Mirror, saying that teams have to accept that they will sometimes receive criticism and that people should be able to express their opinion on situations. He explained:
"I can only imagine how much stick Ferrari get in Italy every single day, for example.
"It's an old expression, but one Mark Webber used a lot: 'To know what it's like to be somebody you've got to walk a mile in their shoes'. Obviously, Red Bull and Christian are going to be sensitive to any criticism of what they do, because it's personal.
"When it comes to the media, they all have the right to interpret the scenario and events based on their particular vantage point. I see Formula 1 from the view of having been a driver, so there are a lot of things that I'll have an opinion on that others won't, but that doesn't mean those opinions are not valid.
"If you only ever see things from people who agree with you or say nice things about you, then that's a very blinkered view on life. I suspect McLaren are sensitive to some criticism, and Mercedes had some criticism during their dominant era as well. You've just got to accept it."
Coulthard continued:
"For Christian, part of being the figurehead and in the spotlight means you become a focal point and that's no different whether you're team principal of an F1 team or captain or coach of a football team. It's part of the arena.
"It doesn't mean we should accept everything, but it's the responsibility of the governing bodies to make sure education gets out there to the right people. But those who hate, it's unlikely we're going to educate that out of them – that's just the way they're wired."
The boycott of Sky Sports took place when Sky Sports pundit Ted Kravitz made a comment in his post race show at the Austin Grand Prix which Max Verstappen and Red Bull branded as "disrespectful"
Kravitz said in his post race show:
“[Hamilton] doesn't win a race all year, and then finally comes back at a track where he could win the first race all year, battling the same guy who won the race he was robbed in the previous year, and manages to finish ahead of him.
"What a script and a story that would have been. But that's not the way the script turned out today, was it? Because the guy that beat him after being robbed actually overtook him, because he's got a quicker car, because of engineering and Formula One and design, and pretty much because of [Adrian Newey, Red Bull's chief technical officer] over there."
After the boycott, Kravitz revealed that he and the two-time champion had sat down for a chat to resolve things. He explained:
"Following what happened with us, and me, and Max Verstappen in Mexico. Listen, we sat down, we had a good chat but as Max said yesterday we drew a line under it. So onwards and upwards.”