Sky Sports' David Croft snaps back at 'ridiculous' F1 fan accusation

Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft has slammed one fan's 'ridiculous' comment following the Canadian Grand Prix, surrounding Lewis Hamilton's damage picked up during the race.

The seven-time champion's SF-25 suffered after running over a groundhog during Sunday's race, which led to drastic floor damage.

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The Brit then wrestled with his Ferrari to maintain the pace of the frontrunners but only managed to come home in a distant sixth after struggling to get past Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon following his first pit stop.

Sky Sports commentators suggested Hamilton was losing '20 points' of downforce due to the damage sustained on his Ferrari car, which would have explained his poor performance in comparison to team-mate Charles Leclerc.

However, one fan on social media was unhappy with the commentary from Croft and broadcasting legend Martin Brundle, suggesting they had been unfairly harsh on Hamilton given the damage to his car, despite the duo explaining the reason for his lack of pace.

That provoked Croft, with the broadcaster replying to the post in defiant fashion, saying: "Ridiculous comment, I mentioned throughout that Lewis had lost 20 points of downforce after picking up damage to his car."

The Sky F1 star was not alone in the comments of the social media gripe, with 1996 champion Damon Hill also agreeing.

Hill wrote: "You did! I even remember Martin explaining how many tenths of a second he was losing per 10points of downforce. And I hardly concentrate at all!"

Hamilton flailing at Ferrari

Hamilton put in a good qualifying performance in Canada, defeating team-mate Leclerc for only the third time this season, leading him to start the race up in fifth.

The seven-time champion also had strong pace at the beginning of the race, sticking to the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, however Hamilton's sixth-place finish was once again not enough to finish ahead of his team-mate in the race, and Leclerc is now 25 points ahead of Hamilton in the drivers' championship.

The 40-year-old sits sixth in the championship and has not claimed a single podium with his new team as of yet, while Leclerc has managed three in 2025.

Despite all of this, the Canadian GP performance really was out of Hamilton's hands following the collision with the groundhog, and it was that misfortune that prevented him from continuing what had been a relatively strong weekend up until that point.

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