Brookes confirmed the news on social media, revealing she had departed the Sky Sports F1 team, but added she intends to remain involved in the sport in a yet-to-be-announced role.
“After many years at Sky I am moving on to exciting new ventures and looking forward to what comes next,” she said.
“While I have left the Sky F1 team, F1 still has my heart and so I will still be involved in it.
“I’ll keep you posted but in the meantime see you at Silverstone if you are there!”
Brookes joined Sky in 2009 and became a regular part of its Formula 1 coverage when the broadcaster took over UK rights from the BBC in 2012.
She has since become a familiar figure in the paddock, particularly through her work in the media pen interviewing drivers, team principals and other key figures across grand prix weekends.
Buy tickets
Speaking to Speedcafe earlier this year, Brookes talked about the challenge of speaking to drivers immediately after difficult races.
“When we have a bad day at work, we go home,” Brookes told Speedcafe.
“You shut the door. You talk to your partner or you talk to friends or whatever, and you sit down with a cup of tea or a pint of beer and you just go over the day. They get put in front of the world’s media immediately.”
Brookes said that approach shaped how she handled tense interviews, while also stressing the responsibility that comes with asking difficult questions on behalf of viewers.
“You’re not calling them out to have a go at them, you’re calling them out so that hopefully they will answer it and give the fans a reason,” she said.
“And you’re giving them a right of reply.”
The presenter also spoke about the online abuse she had received after her widely discussed interview with Max Verstappen in Spain last year.
Brookes asked the Dutchman if he had deliberately made contact with George Russell in the closing stages of the race.
She said it was her job to ask him the question immediately, especially given many fans were already asking it themselves.
“At the time in that moment it’s my job to ask him if he did it on purpose,” she said.
“I can’t shy away from that. I’ll always go and speak to people afterwards if it’s been a difficult interview and sort out if I think there’s anything to sort out.
“But it is a challenge. But I enjoy the challenge because that’s why I’m there.”
View this post on Instagram
Brookes also told Speedcafe she remained passionate about the media pen despite the pressure and intensity of the role, and always aimed to retain a respectful relationship between herself and those she interviewed.
“I love it,” she said.
“There’s a mutual respect I feel, and I hope that’s the case that they know I have a job to do.
“And I also never ever want an interview to end on a bad note.”
Outside her broadcasting role, Brookes released her first book this year, F1 Racing: Drive, offering behind-the-scenes insight into the teams, drivers and personalities at the centre of the sport.


























Discussion about this post