Amid the Red Bull-Sky Sports Controversy, Esteemed F1 Journalist Reveals Details About His Awkward Encounter With $2.9 Billion Worth Businessman

The Formula 1 world went crazy as the news of Red Bull Racing boycotting Sky Sports F1 surfaced. Max Verstappen, the star driver of the Austrian stable, led the charge as he decided to boycott the British broadcasters over Ted Kravitz’s comments on the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

As the situation develops further over the withdrawal of the boycott, an ESPN journalist compares his experiences in interviews with drivers.

The boycott was implemented after Ted, one of Sky Sports’ leading men, stated live that Lewis Hamilton was ‘robbed’ of his world title last year. Now, Nate Saunders, ESPN’s leading media man, recently opened up and compared his experiences of close calls while interviewing drivers on their sensitive spots.

Talking about this, Saunders conveyed how his interview with the young Canadian driver, Lance Stroll wasn’t taken sportingly by the current owner of the Aston Martin team.

He stated during The Last Lap podcast, “I’ve never been boycotted fully for a race weekend, I’ve just had a very awkward moment with Lawrence Stroll [After his interview with Lance Stroll about his father’s money].

READ MORE: “He Was the Bad Guy”: Lance Stroll Reveals His Sour Perception Toward Future Teammate Fernando Alonso

Lance Stroll drives for the Aston Martin F1 team that is owned by his father Lawrence Stroll. Lawrence Stroll is a Canadian billionaire and businessman who’s worth $2.9 Billion. Because of this, Lance Stroll is often asked questions regarding his father’s fortune.

How did the interview with Lance Stroll go that saved Saunders from Red Bull-like situation?

Nate Saunders went on to explain the background of the interview on the podcast when he took Lance Stroll’s interview. It was the Monza race weekend and Stroll Jr. was doing well in his second season, Saunders stated.

However, a lot of people were talking about his father’s money and how he got the chance to be on the team. On this, Saunders asked the current Aston Martin driver to share his thoughts.

Saunders continued, “His [Lance Stroll’s] opinion was I was just being cruel that I was picking out the money side of things, when really in my opinion I was giving him a chance to kind of answer that question which everyone talks about.”

“Did the interview, he [Lance Stroll] kind of you know, closed up quite a bit, and after with the strolls [Lance and Lawrence Stroll] it was a bit awkward.“, further asserted the ESPN media man.

Furthermore, Nate Saunders revealed how the situation got tricky and awkward from there on. He conveyed, “I went to Williams’ media breakfast the next day and Lawrence Stroll was just kind of looking at me.”

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“I didn’t talk to Lance, but it was clear that they were like ‘we’re not gonna talk to that guy again.'”

Was it right for the Stroll family to close up to Saunders? Or was the ESPN journalist’s question wasn’t genuine?