In Jeddah, the Sky Sports F1 commentator asked Verstappen about his future with Red Bull.

The four-time world champion has been repeatedly linked with a switch to a big-money move to Aston Martin in recent months.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has expressed concern that Verstappen could be tempted away from the squad for which he has claimed 64 race wins.

“Max’s primary goal is the world championship,” Marko told Kleine Zeitung.

“If we give him the car he needs for that, the question of a move won’t even arise.”

Croft asked Verstappen about the situation in Saudi Arabia, but the 27-year-old avoided the question and instead offered a non-committal response.

Unperturbed, Croft probed again: “So he’s getting the wrong end of the stick? You’re not thinking of leaving Red Bull any time?”

“No,” Verstappen responded. “I think just focus on commentating, I’ll focus on driving. Then you don’t need to think about any other scenarios.”

The comment drew the ire of fans despite it being uttered in a matter-of-fact tone.

It’s a point Croft has moved to make in an interview with The Times.

David Croft insists no Sky Sports F1 commentary bias

“Max brushed it off,” he said of his first question.

“I kind of expected that he would do, so I just said, ‘So Helmut’s got the wrong end of the stick?’ and then he said, ‘Just focus on commentating’ and I think he was joking, to be honest.

“Max and I have a really good relationship, I’ve known him from the outset,” he added.

“We’ve never rowed about anything — he’s never come to me and gone, ‘I don’t like what you said’.

“[But] some of the Max fans pick up on that and then just blame me for the question. That’s my job — people just choose to attack me. Fine. You can attack me as much as you want.

“I’ll be there at the next press conference, and it’s not going to put me off asking the question.

“In the public eye and on social media, you’ve got to have the skin of a rhino.”