© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Former F1 drivers, and long-time pundits, Johnny Herbert and Paul di Resta will not be part of Sky Sports’ commentary team in 2023.
Johnny Herbert and Paul di Resta have been a part of Sky Sports’ F1 team for years, with Herbert noted for expressing his opinions even when it was perhaps not popular among their colleagues.
He was especially vocal after the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which saw Lewis Hamilton lose the title to Verstappen, after race director Michael Masi disregarded the rules.
While most F1 commentators and pundits were very careful when addressing the issue, Herbert was one of the first to openly point out how unfair the whole situation was.
“When you’re there to make things fair, you don’t twist the rules that you think is actually going to benefit Formula 1 like Michael Masi said at the end about, ‘We wanted to go racing’,” Herbert said at the time.
“You don’t go racing after Sir Lewis Hamilton had done one of the best races that he had done all season, and then you take that away from him because you’ve given the advantage to Max, who had done the right call on the pit-stop putting those Soft tyres on.
“You don’t then change everything with the rules to allow the race to go green for that one lap when it’s totally unfair.
“The result we got at the end of it, which was very unfortunate, was totally wrong,” the Briton concluded.
If you like SilverArrows.Net, consider supporting us by buying us a coffee!
On Wednesday, Hebert announced his departure on social media.
“Going to miss this team,” he wrote, along with a photo.
Following his announcement, Sky Sports released a statement.
“Johnny has been an integral part of our Formula 1 team since the very first season on Sky Sports in 2012,” the statement read.
“We will miss his humour and big personality and thank him for his energy and enthusiasm over the last 11 years.
“Everyone wishes him all the best for the future,” Sky Sports concluded.
It is not clear why Herbert won’t continue with Sky, while di Resta’s departure could be explained by him competing with Peugeot in the World Endurance Championship in 2023, and also with United Autosports LMP2 team in the European Le Mans Series.
