In a surprising and curious social accident, SkySport F1 has found itself at the center of a controversy involving Charles Leclerc. Immediately after the qualifications of the Made in Italy and Emilia Romagna GP, the Instagram account of the Italian broadcaster published a post with a quotation mark attributed to Leclerc, in which the Monegasque claimed to not being able to drive like Max Verstappen.
“I don't know how Max drives but I can't take corners like him”
These are the words written in large letters on an image of Charles Leclerc, in a layout that highlights the passage “but I can't”. The statement, decidedly surprising, immediately generated awave of reactions, as expected for this type of content.
“..????”
Shortly after publication, Leclerc himself intervened, commenting on the post himself, with an enigmatic "..????”, a clear sign of surprise and confusion from the Scuderia Ferrari driver.
Post gone, but the damage is done
Leclerc's intervention immediately raised doubts about the authenticity of the statement. The page ran for cover, quickly deleting the content. Unfortunately, the web does not forgive and the screenshots of the incident have already ended up practically everywhere, sparking speculation from fans and professionals.
An embarrassing mistake, from someone who should be the main source of information
This episode highlights a decidedly dangerous problem: the quality of communication from SkySport F1, the broadcaster it owns the exclusive for Formula 1 coverage. The social channels of the "engine house" are not new to accidents, more than once content has been published reporting inaccurate information or incorrect statistics.
The Formula 1 public is extremely attentive and demanding and deserves timely and reliable coverage. A further aggravating factor is the fact that Sky is a pay TV: people pay for a quality service, further raising expectations. Errors of this magnitude show:
- sports journalism: showing the press as a pack of ignorant wolves, ready to sink their claws into everything that comes their way, without knowing what they are hunting;
- the pilot: the content had the sole objective of discrediting Leclerc, attributing strong, albeit false, statements to him.
Formula 1 fans deserve better
The reaction from motorsport fans was not long in coming. Currently on SkySport F1 Instagram page he's in a class a truly special shistorm: users are commenting on all posts quoting Leclerc and writing “..????”. The massive and coordinated reaction underlines how serious the mistake was.
The followers of the circus deserve quality information and at the same time the pilots deserve to be represented truthfully by SkySport, avoiding unnecessary stances. Only in this will we be able to show ourselves to the public as one authoritative source in the world of Formula 1.
Per fare chiarezza, questa è l’intervista da cui hanno estratto e interpretato liberamente le parole di Charles Leclerc:
