David Croft addresses Max Verstappen’s “focus on commentating” jibe

David Croft has vowed to continue to ask Max Verstappen tough questions despite the Dutchman’s “focus on commentating” jibe.

Verstappen delivered a brutal response to Croft in Thursday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix press conference.

Croft asked about Verstappen’s future, referencing Helmut Marko’s comments that he ‘feared’ losing his star driver.

“So he’s getting the wrong end of the stick? You’re not thinking of leaving Red Bull any time?” Croft said.

Verstappen quickly replied: “No. I think just focus on commentating, I’ll focus on driving. Then you don’t need to think about any other scenarios.”

Verstappen’s response led to his fans further criticising the Sky F1 commentator.

In an interview with The Times, Croft addressed the exchange. 

“Max brushed it off,” Croft said.

“I kind of expected that he would do, so I just said, ‘So Helmut’s got the wrong end of the stick?’ and then he said, ‘Just focus on commentating’ and I think he was joking, to be honest.

“Max and I have a really good relationship, I’ve known him from the outset. We’ve never rowed about anything — he’s never come to me and gone, ‘I don’t like what you said’.

“[But] some of the Max fans pick up on that and then just blame me for the question. That’s my job - people just choose to attack me. Fine. You can attack me as much as you want.

“I’ll be there at the next press conference, and it’s not going to put me off asking the question. In the public eye and on social media, you’ve got to have the skin of a rhino.”

Verstappen’s history with Sky Sports

Verstappen refused to speak to Sky Sports during the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.

The Dutchman was unhappy with comments made by Ted Kravitz about Abu Dhabi 2021.

Speaking about the reasons for the boycott, Verstappen said: “It had nothing to do with this weekend, but this year it’s been a constant kind of like digging, being disrespectful, especially one particular person - and at one point it is enough, I don’t accept it.

“You can’t live in the past, you just have to move on. At the moment social media is a very toxic place and if you are constantly being like that live on TV, you make it constantly worse, instead of trying to make it better in the world.

“You keep disrespecting me and at one point I’m not tolerating it anymore. So that’s why I decided to stop answering.”