Martin Brundle sent Rachel Brookes a goodbye message after she left Sky Sports with immediate effect, ending a 17-year run at the company. Brookes said she is moving on to new ventures, but she also made clear she will still be involved in Formula 1.
“Good luck Rach. It’s been a pleasure to work alongside you on Sky F1. Your professionalism shines through,” Brundle wrote, with David Croft also paying tribute after the departure. Brookes replied: “Thankyou MB. An absolute pleasure to work with you too. Hope our paths cross again.”
Sky Sports F1 reacts
Simon Lazenby joined the response with a short farewell: “We will miss you Rach xxx.” Karun Chandhok wrote, “Will miss you on tour Raquel,” while Harry Benjamin added, “Good luck Rach, see you in paddock soon.”
Brookes announced on Wednesday before the Austrian Grand Prix that she had left Sky Sports and was “moving on to exciting new ventures and looking forward to what comes next.” She also said: “I have left the Sky F1 team but F1 still has my heart & so I’ll still be involved in it. I’ll keep you posted, in the meantime see you at Silverstone!”
Brookes and Max Verstappen
The exit comes after Brookes described receiving “horrific” abuse from online trolls following an interview with Max Verstappen last year. On the Road to Success podcast, she said she had received messages from people in broadcasting and sports broadcasting saying, “Well done for asking the question,” and added that even colleagues said they would not have asked it because they would have been too scared.
She also said the reaction from fans and social media was “horrendous,” including messages telling her she should never be able to have children because she was a bad example. The immediate change for Sky Sports F1 is simple: one of its long-serving presenters is out, and the public reaction around her departure shows the seat she leaves behind will be noticed quickly.
