Max Verstappen is starting to attract a cult-like fanbase who blindly attack anyone”: Fans react to Sky reporter reveals online hate campaign
Weeks after her heated interview with Max Verstappen in Spain, Sky Sports reporter Rachel Brookes was abused online. She turned off the comment section of her social media profile and received relentless hate.
The infamous conversation happened during the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix held in Barcelona on June 1. Verstappen received a 10-second time penalty and three penalty points for causing a collision with George Russell, which many believe was a deliberate attempt.
In a post-race interview, Rachel Brookes from Sky Sports asked Verstappen if his aggressive actions take ‘some shine off’ his racing craft. To this, the four-time world champion replied:
“Well, that’s your opinion.”
After the video of the interview went viral on social media, Brookes revealed that she received vile attacks online. Hence, she had to turn off the comment section of her Instagram and X accounts.
“I will be posting on here as usual, but comments/tags/mentions on here and on X have been disabled for the foreseeable future due to the enormous amounts of vile abuse I was sent after the Spanish GP.”
Meanwhile, fans supported Rachel Brookes and pinned the blame on Max Verstappen’s fan base for spreading toxicity.
“Max is starting to attract a cult-like fanbase who just blindly attack anyone who challenges or disagrees with their driver. I think it’s due to him being the most successful driver for the last 4 seasons because the Hamilton fanbase has/had the exact same problems,” a fan said.
“The Verstappen fan base is effective at throwing vile abuse on mass in a targeted way,”
However, a few fans also accused Brookes of being biased during the interview.
“Interview? She primarily expressed her own opinions,” a fan commented.
“Just don’t ask stupid questions,” a user said.
“Grow a spine. I am vilely abused by FIA bias,” another fan said.
Verstappen later admitted his fault in the accident with Russell and said it was a mistake committed in a flow of frustrating emotions.
Although Max Verstappen appeared defiant during a post-race interview with Sky Sports’ Rachel Brookes, he later acknowledged his role in the collision with George Russell via Instagram. He admitted the crash was avoidable but said his frustration took over in the heat of the moment.
George Russell, on the other hand, was taken aback by Verstappen’s public admission of fault following the Barcelona race. In an interview with Formula 1, the British driver said:
“I was a bit surprised he owned up to it, but fair enough. We haven’t actually talked about it. We ran into each other at the airport recently, but I honestly forgot we had even crashed. No hard feelings.”
Despite the seemingly resolved tension between the two, the incident may have serious consequences for Verstappen. He received three penalty points on his super license, bringing his total to 11. Just one more point could result in a race ban.
