Rachel Brookes breaks silence on shock Sky F1 exit and reveals Lewis Hamilton support

Rachel Brookes has shed light on her shock exit from Sky Sports Formula 1 and revealed she received support from Lewis Hamilton. 

Last month, longtime Sky Sports F1 journalist and presenter Brookes confirmed she had left her role with the broadcaster with immediate effect. Her seemingly sudden departure came as a surprise to many. 

Brookes joined Sky Sports in 2009 and had been a key member of its F1 team ever since Sky Sports took over the broadcast rights for the UK in 2012. 

Despite leaving Sky Sports F1, Brookes teased that she would still be involved in the championship and subsequently went on to host Aston Martin’s 'The Lawn' event at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. 

The 51-year-old spoke about her Sky Sports F1 exit publicly for the first time on the Essential F1 podcast following the Hungarian Grand Prix. 

“It appeared very sudden, but it wasn’t,” Brookes explained. “I had a chance to say goodbye to people in the paddock, to people I worked with, teams, drivers. 

“I actually had a chance to say goodbye to Lewis. I had a lovely chat with Lewis. I got some time with Lewis to have a conversation. He was, as you would imagine, really, really lovely, very supportive. 

“I won’t divulge everything that was said but it was caught by some photographers. There’s a lovely photo at the end of it where he gives me a massive hug and he says ‘I hope I see you back in the paddock soon’, which was really lovely. 

“In Canada, I was finishing media in the TV interview pen and Charles Leclerc had just finished his interviews and was just walking back out. I was stood by my camera and he just gave me the biggest hug. Didn’t say a word just gave me the biggest hug. So obviously someone had told him and I just said ‘thank you’ and he left. 

“There were a few drivers I didn’t get to say goodbye to, just as it happened. I was at home the day after it had been announced and I get these little video messages from a couple of drivers as well, who said ‘we’re going to miss you’. It was really, really lovely.

“The paddock is a family. It’s an amazing place. I kind of didn’t think anyone would notice but the teams and the drivers, it is one big family and it is amazing. I was quite overwhelmed by the response from everybody.” 

Brookes debunks Verstappen theories 

Brookes also moved to shut down speculation that her exit from Sky Sports F1 was linked to Max Verstappen. 

Brookes had previously opened up about online abuse she had faced in the wake of her interview with Verstappen about the Red Bull driver’s incident with George Russell at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix. 

“It was nothing to do with comments and abuse I got online last year at all,” Brookes explained. 

“That was resolved very quickly, and I’ve got a great relationship with Max. So absolutely nothing to do with that.

“I know a lot of people thought that, and there were some articles written. Absolutely not the case at all.”