#WheresTed? Petition launched amid Kravitz Sky exit rumours

Fans have launched an online petition, while social media is awash with rumours and conspiracies, amid suggestions that much-loved pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz will not be part of Sky Sports' coverage for the 2019 Formula 1 season for the first time since the station bought F1 rights.

Kravitz has worked on Sky's coverage since 2012, having previously appeared on ITV and BBC in a career spanning almost 20 years.

His sideways glance and genial approach to describing the technical side of F1 has attracted many fans.

Last season, he attempted to illustrate the temperatures reached on wheel rims during a grand prix by cracking an egg onto a freshly removed wheel – the bit fell completely flat as Kravitz first struggled to crack the egg, which then fell straight off the wheel once removed from its shell.

The slapstick side to Kravitz amuses many, but his sharp technical insight will also be a miss, if indeed it is confirmed that is not part of Sky's coverage.

No mention of Kravitz has been made this week as Sky have revealed several details about their coverage of the year ahead – as such a petition has been set up in an attempt to keep Kravitz on Sky, while the hashtag #WheresTed was trending on Twitter.

2019 will be a crucial year for Sky, having secured exclusive broadcasting rights, meaning that free-to-air live coverage of F1 will be almost entirely removed from British screens.

A deal as been struck to air the British Grand Prix on Channel 4, with a highlights show also remaining on the terrestrial channel, but fans have been enraged by the departure of the sport from most households.

In an attempt to boost numbers, Sky have offered existing customers the chance to add Sky F1 for £10 a month, but the deal has not been met with universal approval.

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