Ex-Sky F1 broadcaster lands new role with F1 team weeks after leaving company

Rachel Brookes announced her sudden departure from Sky F1 weeks ago, and she's since landed her first role.

Brookes left Sky's Formula 1 team before the Austrian Grand Prix in June, 14 years after joining the company.

Well known for being a paddock reporter and interviewing the drivers before, during and after the sessions, Brookes played an important role in delivering top-class coverage to the sport.

After announcing her exit on X, the 51-year-old confirmed she would still be involved in F1.

"After many years at Sky I am moving on to exciting new ventures and looking forward to what comes next," Brookes wrote.

"I have left the Sky F1 team but F1 still has my heart & so I'll still be involved in it. I'll keep you posted, in the meantime see you at Silverstone!"

Planet F1 revealed that Brookes' Sky F1 exit was unrelated to a recent podcast appearance, where she opened up about the online abuse she received following an interview with Max Verstappen in 2025.

Nonetheless, excited about continuing her career in Formula One after leaving Sky, Brookes worked with the Aston Martin team at last weekend's British Grand Prix as host of The Lawn.

The Lawn is an annual VIP hospitality and fan event hosted by Aston Martin, located close to the Silverstone circuit, over the British Grand Prix weekend.

Brookes was spotted taking part in a pit stop challenge, while American band Razorlight took to the stage at the AMR Technology Campus.

Writing on social media after the race concluded, which saw Charles Leclerc claim his first victory of 2026, Brookes thanked the teams for hosting her.

"The British GP is always special. It was lovely to meet so many of you and thank you for your kind words," she wrote on Instagram.

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Brookes has established a long-term relationship with Aston Martin after hosting their car launches in 2022, 2023, and 2026, but it's been a troublesome campaign for them.

Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso finished on the back row of the grid for the fourth successive weekend and have collected just one point all season, sitting second from bottom in the Constructors' Championship.

Aston Martin will make upgrade package before summer break

Stroll and Alonso have spoken publicly about how they feel Aston Martin have built the worst car of any team in F1 this year.

But before the British Grand Prix, the team confirmed that an update package featuring aero upgrades and weight reduction will be introduced at the Hungaroring, the final race before the summer break on July 26.

"Obviously you need to attack a lot of parts to achieve that. If I were to list all the parts, I think I would not even know all the parts that are changed. So I think we wait until we have it and then we will declare what you have to declare and we see where we're going to end with," Aston Martin's Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack said.

The next race on the F1 calendar is next weekend as the Belgian Grand Prix takes centre stage at Spa-Francorchamps.