Sky F1 caught in Red Bull and Mercedes ‘crossfire’ in Brundle’s ‘unpleasant’ revelation

F1 commentator Martin Brundle revealed how F1 2021 was “the most unpleasant time I have known” due to the rivalry between Red Bull and Mercedes.

The 2021 campaign went down in Formula 1 history as one of the best seasons the sport has ever seen, as title heroes, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, reached the title decider in Abu Dhabi on points, a race of drama and controversy that will not soon be forgotten in sports.

Martin Brundle: Sky F1 caught in ‘crossfire’ between Mercedes and Red Bull

The rivalry that season extended far beyond Verstappen and Hamilton and ran through their respective teams as tensions increased Red Bull boss Christian Horner and Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff are engaged in a war of words at various points.

Brundle was in the thick of the action that season as Sky F1’s co-commentator and pundit, when he opened up about how both Red Bull and Mercedes adopted a ‘with us or against us’ mentality, which put Sky in an awkward position.

Speaking about the Sky F1 podcastBrundle revealed that he has ‘never put a note in a commentary box’ during his time at the broadcaster since they acquired live F1 broadcast rights for Britain and Ireland from 2012.

So when asked how he prepares for a race, Brundle said: “On Sunday morning we go to some briefings, Crofty (Sky F1 chief commentator David Croft) and I, and get that kind of last-minute knowledge.

“And teams are pretty open at that point. They’re not going to give you their race strategy, but they’re going to give you a lot of information.

“We just read all weekend. On Fridays I go to the track, so I gain a lot of knowledge from that. I talk to people relentlessly. I have my touchstones in the paddock where we exchange information, three or four people.

“If there’s something big going on, I’ll talk to Zak (Brown, McLaren Racing CEO), Christian and Toto. Go talk to someone. And they don’t want to tell me lies. If they can’t tell me, they won’t tell me, or they’ll tell me something.

Martin Brundle tops the F1 experts’ rankings

Ranking of the top experts in F1: Brundle, Rosberg and more, all rated

Martin Brundle grid walk: classic moments and beautiful accidents, including Ozzy Osbourne, Megan Thee Stallion and Brad Pitt

“I would say 60 to 70 percent of what I know, which I can never say on TV, but that gives me the other 30 percent, and then it also means it gives me guidance, or I can use my Sky F1 -colleagues give advice if we’re going in the wrong direction or something.

“It’s probably too much, 60, 70 percent, but there are a lot of things that you get to know and that people tell you with great confidence. So you cannot violate that trust, otherwise you will never get to the other track.

“So we are in a sanctuary. We get caught in the crossfire. The most unpleasant time I’ve had in all my years of commentary was Abu Dhabi 2021, and 2021 in general, because it got so heated and so aggressive between Mercedes and Red Bull and Sky got caught in the middle of it.

“We basically got caught in the crossfire. And every team pretty much felt like if you weren’t with them, you had to be against them. And they both felt it. And it was actually very uncomfortable, that whole phase.

“But the friendships continued and we all moved on.”

2021 was the first of three World Championship victories for Verstappen, who is expected to make it four in a row in F1 2024. With three rounds to go he has a 62 points lead about McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Read the following: FIA announces new F1 race director after Wittich steps down