F1 Journalist Row Brings Together Rivals Lewis Hamilton & Max Verstappen to See Eye to Eye

Max Verstappen recently opened up about Naomi Schiff’s ‘gender-based’ criticism. The famed F1 pundit faced discriminative comments on Twitter from a troll that questioned her grounds for being selected at Sky Sports. The former W series driver has since received major positive support from several members of the F1 community.

Schiff’s merit earned her a spot in the GT4 European Series and she also took part in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring in 2018. She has also participated in the W series and acts as their diversity and inclusion ambassador.

Alongside Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, Verstappen became another prominent figure to jump to her support. This is one of the first issues where Hamilton and Verstappen stood up for the same cause.

The reigning world champion said, “Most of the time the people that are hating on you are frustrated people in life or work, or whatever. So, they’re at home on their keyboard, they don’t have the person in front of you. And they can say what they want and I think that’s not correct.”

“But most of the time, if these people meet you in real life, they wouldn’t even dare to say these kind of things. I mean, of course, it’s bad, I didn’t even read the comments, but I picked up a bit on the line so it’s not nice but we all receive hate. I mean, I receive hate, but do I really care? No, because these people they don’t even deserve the attention…”

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Schiff has seen an outpouring of support from many F1 fans. Moreover, her presence in the paddocks, including her insights into the sport, could serve as inspiration to many who aspire to be like her.

Joanna Fleet assisted Max Verstappen on the podium

Female presentation, arguably, is a little lesser in the world of F1. While we see several female reporters, the motorsports world could surely use much more. However, with the increase in inclusivity and F1 popularity, much more representation is being eyed. Comments of support from Verstappen, Hamilton, or Vettel could help this massively.

Only this year we saw how Joanna Fleet took to the podium after Red Bull‘s Spanish GP win. She stood alongside Verstappen in the win and received recognition. At that moment, she became one of the few females to ever grace the prestigious podium. So, do you think this trend can continue?

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