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Rachel Brookes has confirmed she has left her position as a reporter for Sky Sports before the Austrian Grand Prix, just days after disclosing the “utterly horrendous” abuse she faced after an interview withMax Verstappen.

Brookes, 51, has been involved with Sky Sports’ broadcasting for the last 14 years, conducting interviews with drivers before and after races.

The journalist disclosed via social media that she has recently left her position.

Brookes confirmed that she intends to stay active in Formula One and will be present at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix in July, even though she has departed from Sky.

“Following numerous years with Sky, I am now moving towards thrilling new opportunities and eager to see what lies ahead,” Brookes wrote.

I have departed from the Sky F1 team, but F1 still holds a special place in my heart, and therefore I will continue to be involved with it.

I’ll keep you updated, until then, see you at Silverstone!

Brookes, author of the book “F1 Racing: Drive: The Secrets to Formula One Success,” disclosed earlier this week the level of harassment she faced after an interview with Verstappen last year.

She had communicated with the four-time world champion following the Spanish Grand Prix in May last year.

Verstappen received a 10-second penalty during the race after colliding with George Russell of Mercedes.

Following the previous world champion Nico Rosberg’s comment that Verstappen might have intentionally bumped into his competitor, Brookes questioned the Dutch driver on camera.

Brookes mentioned on the Road to Success podcast: “I asked Max, ‘Was it intentional?’” and his reply was, “Does it make a difference?”

She then replied: “Yes, I believe it does for the fans watching and the children.”

I want people to recognize your talent, but you complicate things by acting this way.

Brookes shared during the podcast that she had received private commendation from her fellow broadcasters for questioning Verstappen, yet faced ‘horrific’ fan backlash.

“I received many messages from individuals in broadcasting, particularly in sports broadcasting, who said: ‘Well done for posing the question,’ ” Brookes mentioned.

Since no one else in the pen that day posed him that question – and even my coworkers admitted they wouldn’t have asked it, as they would have been too afraid to do so.

But then, the fan reaction, especially on social media, was terrible. I received messages saying I shouldn’t be allowed to have kids because I’m a bad role model. I was subjected to the worst possible comments imaginable.

And this comes from many of these profiles featuring fathers with children, daughters, and similar situations, where you just glance at it and think: ‘Take a step back. It’s a Formula 1 race. It’s a sport.’

But the material I received was terrible, completely terrible. So I simply turned off my comments.

Verstappen, who acknowledged he had committed a ‘mistake’ after the race, eventually fell from fifth position to 10th in the Grand Prix.

The Dutch driver ended up falling short of the world championship by only two points to Lando Norris.

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