Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Rachel Brookes has left Sky Sports F1 with immediate effect ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, ending a run of more than a decade on the broadcaster’s Formula 1 coverage while making clear she is not walking away from the paddock.
In a statement posted on social media, Brookes said: “After many years at Sky I am moving on to exciting new ventures and looking forward to what comes next. 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 will not be part of Sky’s trackside team in Austria, with no explanation yet given for her departure and no details announced about her next role. Her message did, however, point strongly to a return in some other capacity at next month’s British Grand Prix.
Brookes has been a familiar part of Sky’s F1 operation since the broadcaster took the live rights from the BBC in 2012, regularly handling interviews with drivers, team principals and other senior figures across Grand Prix weekends.
Martin Brundle, Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle, responded publicly to her announcement, writing: “Good luck Rach. It’s been a pleasure to work alongside you on Sky F1. Your professionalism shines through.” David Croft also paid tribute, posting: “Good luck for the future Rach, we’re gonna miss ya xxx.”
Brookes replied to Brundle: “Thankyou MB. An absolute pleasure to work with you too. Hope our paths cross again.”
For Sky, the immediate impact is the loss of one of the regular faces of its race weekend coverage. For the wider F1 paddock, Brookes’ own words suggest this is a change of broadcaster rather than a full-time exit from the sport, with Silverstone now the likely point at which her next move becomes clearer.