Sky Sports remove contentious Verstappen ad after Red Bull complaint

Sky Sports have scrambled to remove an advertisement from their rotation, after receiving a complaint from Red Bull.

The promotional insert for Sky, shown on Sky Sports F1 during coverage of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice sessions, is a slow-motion replay of Max Verstappen's high-speed crash at Silverstone after contact with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen endured a 51G impact and was hospitalised for checks following the crash.

The impact with the barrier itself isn't shown in the insert, with the Red Bull disappearing behind an overlay for Sky Sports wishing viewers a Merry Christmas.

Red Bull confirmed to RacingNews365.com that they had approached Sky to pressure them to remove the ad from rotation.

"A 51G crash where the driver was airlifted to hospital being used as a Merry Christmas message is very poor taste indeed," a team spokesperson said, confirming that Sky have agreed to pull the ad from the air.