Why are Max Verstappen and Red Bull boycotting Sky Sports F1? Ted Kravitz's drama explained

Max Verstappen and Red Bull are currently engaged in an 'indefinite' boycott with Sky Sports F1 following comments by popular journalist Ted Kravitz. During last weekend's United States Grand Prix, the veteran journalist suggested the Dutchman 'stole' the title from Lewis Hamilton last year, with Red Bull officials like Christian Horner now refusing to speak to his employer.

The drama began during the race weekend in Austin where the Dutchman was locked in a tense battle with Hamilton for race victory at the Circuit of the Americas and ultimately prevailed after passing the Briton by five end rounds.

Kravitz made the controversial comments about Verstappen's 2021 win on his 'Ted's notebook' post-race show while discussing the Grand Prix, suggesting the 37-year-old would be more annoyed by the loss after having been 'robbed' the previous year, referring to the controversial way the Red Bull man claimed his first crown.

The Dutch driver had taken advantage of FIA race director Michael Masi's incorrect application of the safety car procedure to overtake the Briton on the final lap of the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Tensions were also higher within the Red Bull team last weekend after the sport's governing body found them guilty of breaching the cost cap last year.

READ MORE: Leclerc and Norris among affected drivers after Mexico GP briefing

Kravitz said, "[Hamilton] doesn't win a race all year and then finally comes back to a track where he could win the first race of the year, going up against the same guy who won the race where he was robbed the previous year, and manages to finish ahead of him.

"What a storyline and what a story that would have been. But that's not how the storyline went today, was it? Because the guy who beat him up after being broken into actually overtook him, because he has a faster car, because of engineering, Formula 1 and design, and a lot of it thanks to [Adrian Newey, Red Bull technical director] there -down."

That wasn't the only jab Kravitz took from Verstappen over the weekend, claiming he was unable to win a championship in the normal way after being declared world champion in Japan in confused circumstances after the end of the race.

The Sky Sports pundit said: "Verstappen is in the [Austin] paddock, he seems very happy with himself. He doesn't seem like a driver capable of winning a championship in the normal way."

CAN'T MISS Toto Wolff hits out accuses Red Bull of 'diverting attention' [COMMENT]Max Verstappen shares two reasons why Lewis Hamilton fans are booing him [INSIGHT]Lewis Hamilton hits back at Fernando Alonso over comments on the world title [ANALYSIS]

Initially, it didn't seem like Red Bull were bothered by the comments, with the 25-year-old speaking directly to Kravitz during his media tour on Thursday. However, he was notable in his absence from Sky's post-qualifying coverage yesterday as clips of Austin filtered down to Verstappen.

Red Bull has since followed their star driver's lead with reports now suggesting they are ready to snub the broadcaster 'indefinitely'. Horner and co will not speak to Sky for the foreseeable future, with the boycott also expected to extend to Sky Germany and Sky Italia. The decision is also supported by Verstappen's father, Jos.