Former Sky Sports F1 pundit Johnny Herbert fears for two of his former colleagues following the announcement that Damon Hill will be leaving the broadcaster.
Herbert was axed by Sky Sports ahead of the 2023 season, and Hill is set to join him in leaving once this campaign has concluded. It is unclear whether the former world champion has decided to jump ship off his own back, or whether Sky bosses felt it was time for a change.
“It’s been a fantastic 13 years with Sky Sports F1 but all good things come to an end,” the 64-year-old posted on social media. “I will miss the most impressive bunch of professionals it has ever been my pleasure to have worked with. Looking forward to new challenges.”
In the weeks preceding Hill’s exit announcement, he had been receiving online backlash for criticising Max Verstappen’s aggressive driving style. The reigning triple world champion was heavily penalised for illegal moves against Lando Norris in Mexico last month, and Hill did not hold back.
“The second move was just daft and Dick Dastardly stuff,” he said on the Sky Sports F1 podcast. “He accelerated to the apex and drove Lando off the track and Lando didn’t have much option. That was silly driving.”
Reflecting on Hill’s imminent departure, Herbert feels it is another sign of the change unfolding at his old employer, and questioned whether much-loved pundit Martin Brundle or long-serving commentator David Croft could be next.
“I don’t know whether it was [Hill’s] decision or Sky’s, to be honest,” Herbert told FlashscoreUSA.com. “Was it an enjoyment factor? Potentially. I know he got criticism for the Max scenarios and maybe he felt, ‘You know what I don’t need that.’ There is change going on. If he was pushed, then you wonder what could happen to Martin Brundle and David Croft.”
After two years of Verstappen strolling to the world title, a tight race with Norris this season has brought back fresh tension both on track and among fans. Herbert has suggested that the new levels of online criticism may have swayed his former colleague’s decision.
“Damon Hill has been saying ever since he started in 2012 that he wondered why he was doing the punditry,” he continued. “Every year he said he wasn’t sure whether he would do it again. And every year for the next 12 he came back!
“He was very unhappy at the crazy level of abuse he got over his Max comments. Maybe all that negativity made him decide.”
