Rachel Brookes is leaving UK broadcaster Sky Sports F1, but the timing of her departure has made her exit feel like more than a routine career change.
After 14 years with Sky, Brookes confirmed she is moving on from the broadcaster just days before the Austrian Grand Prix.
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She didn’t directly link the decision to the online abuse she recently described, but her announcement came soon after she opened up about the backlash she received for questioning Max Verstappen after his clash with George Russell at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix.
Brookes had asked Verstappen whether his contact with Russell had been deliberate after the possibility was raised on broadcast. Verstappen avoided directly answering and questioned whether it mattered, but the reaction to Brookes’ question quickly became the bigger story.
She said people inside the broadcast industry praised her for asking something others may have avoided. Some fans responded very differently.
“But then the fans, the social media side of it, was horrendous,” Brookes said on the Road to Success podcast. “I got people telling me I should never be able to have children because I’m a bad example. I got the most horrific stuff you could imagine.”
Brookes exit comes after 14 years at Sky
Brookes joined Sky in 2009 and became a familiar presence in the paddock after the broadcaster took over Formula 1 rights in the UK in 2012. Her work in the media pen made her one of the most recognizable reporters in Sky’s race-weekend coverage.
That role also placed her in the firing line of modern F1 fandom, where driver loyalty can quickly turn hostile online.
“And this is from a lot of these profiles with dads with kids with daughters and things like that, where you just look at it and think: ‘Take a step back. It’s a Formula 1 race. It’s a sport,’” Brookes said.
Her comments struck a nerve because Formula 1 has spent years trying to grow its audience while also confronting the darker side of fan culture.
Journalists, drivers and team members are often targeted after controversial moments, especially when they involve the sport’s biggest names.
F1 still has Brookes’ heart
Brookes confirmed her departure in a message on X, making clear that she is not walking away from Formula 1 altogether.
“After many years at Sky I am moving on to exciting new ventures and looking forward to what comes next,” Brookes wrote.
She added: “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!”
That means Brookes is expected to remain around the sport, with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone likely to mark her next public F1 appearance.
Her Sky exit closes a long chapter, but it also leaves behind an uncomfortable reminder. Asking difficult questions is part of sports journalism. Abuse should not be part of the job.