Rachel Brookes leaves Sky Sports F1, stays in Formula 1
NXTbets Pro | Published On: June 24, 2026
Brookes leaves Sky
Rachel Brookes has left Sky Sports F1 with immediate effect, bringing an end to a 16-year run at the company. She said she is moving on to “exciting new ventures,” and she made clear that Formula 1 “still has my heart.” Brookes also said she will remain involved in Formula 1, so her departure from Sky does not take her away from the championship entirely. Viewers will still see her at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, which keeps her on screen for one of the sport’s biggest race weekends. Her exit also lands just days before Sky’s coverage of the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg, so the change arrives at a busy point in the broadcaster’s season. The move closes a long Sky chapter for one of the network’s most familiar paddock voices, but it leaves her connection to Formula 1 intact. Brookes steps away from Sky, yet she stays tied to the sport that made her a regular figure for fans watching the race weekend build-up and the interviews after the action.
Sky F1 background
Brookes joined Sky in 2009 as a freelance reporter for Sky Sports News, then became a familiar part of the channel’s Formula 1 coverage after Sky won the UK broadcast rights in 2012. From that point on, she became one of the most recognisable faces in Sky’s paddock team. Her work around race weekends put her in the media pen, where she interviewed drivers and handled the quick-turn questions that come after sessions and races. That role made her a constant presence for viewers who followed Sky’s F1 output through the years, and it gave her a direct link to the drivers at the centre of the sport’s biggest moments. Brookes spent 16 years at Sky Sports, a long stretch in a live environment where continuity matters and familiar voices matter even more. She was especially known for the post-session interviews that helped frame the day’s main stories from the paddock. That mix of access, consistency and regular on-air work made her one of the best-known reporters in Sky’s Formula 1 coverage.
Verstappen abuse
Brookes also spoke about the online abuse she received after questioning Max Verstappen about his clash with George Russell at last year’s Spanish Grand Prix. She described the abuse as “horrific,” a blunt reminder of how exposed reporters can become when they ask direct questions in a live Formula 1 setting. The episode added a difficult layer to a job that already demands speed, judgement and composure in front of drivers who have just stepped out of the car. Brookes built much of her reputation in that setting, where the media pen often produces the sharpest exchanges of the weekend and where reporters are expected to press for answers without losing control of the moment. Her comments about the abuse sit alongside her decision to move on from Sky and keep working around Formula 1. That combination matters. It shows that her departure is a career move, not a retreat from the sport. She leaves Sky Sports F1 after a long and visible run, but she remains part of the Formula 1 landscape and will still appear at key events.
