David Croft says the Sky F1 team will miss Rachel Brookes after the presenter confirmed her departure on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Brookes announced ahead of this weekend\u2019s Austrian Grand Prix that she has departed Sky F1 after more than a decade with the broadcaster.<\/p>\n
David Croft reacts to Rachel Brookes\u2019 Sky F1 exit<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n She went on to indicate that she will remain in the paddock in some capacity, revealing that she is planning to attend next month\u2019s British Grand Prix at Silverstone despite parting ways with Sky.<\/p>\n In a post to social media, Brookes wrote: \u201cAfter many years at Sky I am moving on to exciting new ventures and looking forward to what comes next.<\/p>\n \u201cI have left the Sky F1 team but F1 still has my heart & so I\u2019ll still be involved in it.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll keep you posted, in the meantime see you at Silverstone!\u201d<\/p>\n Go deeper: Best quotes by Sky F1 pundit Jacques Villeneuve<\/p>\n Jacques Villeneuve\u2019s bold and savage quotes: Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton targeted<\/a><\/p>\n Jeremy Clarkson\u2019s most outrageous F1 quotes: Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen be warned<\/a><\/p>\n Brookes\u2019 announcement has led to a number of well wishes on social media, with the presenter\u2019s X post viewed more than 365,000 times and receiving 4,000 \u2018likes\u2019 at the time of writing.<\/p>\n On Instagram, meanwhile, Brookes\u2019 statement has been \u2018liked\u2019 by almost 10,000 accounts.<\/p>\n Croft, who has served as Sky F1\u2019s lead commentator since the broadcaster inherited the live television rights from the BBC in 2012, was among those to pay tribute to the presenter.<\/p>\n In response to Brookes\u2019 Instagram post, Croft wrote: \u201cGood luck for the future Rach, we\u2019re gonna miss ya xxx\u201d<\/p>\n Lead presenter Simon Lazenby added: \u201cWe will miss you Rach xxx\u201d<\/p>\n Karun Chandhok, the former HRT and Lotus Racing driver who now works as a Sky F1 pundit, said: \u201cWill miss you on tour Raquel.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelly Piquet, the partner of Red Bull driver and four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen, added: \u201cYou\u2019ve been amazing Rach! And will be very missed.\u201d<\/p>\n Harry Benjamin, who has stepped in to the Sky F1 commentary booth when Croft misses a race, wrote: \u201cGood luck Rach, see you in paddock soon.\u201d<\/p>\n Mara Sangiorgio, the Sky F1 Italy reporter, said: \u201cIt was really a pleasure to work with you Rach. Good luck.\u201d<\/p>\n As reported by PlanetF1.com<\/a>, Brookes\u2019 Sky F1 departure came just days after she opened up about the abuse she received following a tense interview with Verstappen at last year\u2019s Spanish Grand Prix.<\/p>\n Brookes was forced to disable comments on her Instagram profile after fans took umbrage at her asking Verstappen if his controversial collision with Mercedes driver George Russell was deliberate.<\/p>\n PlanetF1.com has approached Sky about the nature of Brookes\u2019 departure.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n