Sky Sports Italia has suspended two presenters of its Formula 1 coverage after they made sexist remarks on-air during the Spanish Grand Prix.
The exchange took place during a post-race analysis between 2003 FIA GT champion Matteo Bobbi and 2012 GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi.
Bobbi referred to a woman in the back of their broadcast as an “upgrade package" which prompted Valsecchi to reply: “I know, but they told me I can't test them. So I raise my hands.”
Sky Sports journalist Federica Masolin was left visibly unimpressed by the exchange and attempted to intervene: “Can we watch some interviews instead of these two? Let’s hear from Carlos Sainz, please. I'm going to censure you two.”
Both Valsecchi and Bobbi have been temporarily suspended by Sky Sport Italia and will not work on the next Grand Prix in Canada.
Valsecchi took to social media to apologise for the incident, calling his remarks "inappropriate and disrespectful."
He said: "I'm very sorry because, on Sunday, after the race, I exchanged some jokes that were in bad taste and used inappropriate and disrespectful words. And I'm not like this. I would really like to apologise to those who felt offended, to women and to Sky."
Bobbi also offered an apology on social media: "I sincerely apologise to anyone who may have felt offended and wish to reiterate my total and profound respect for everyone and for women.
"For 10 years, I have been commenting on F1 with friends from Sky, who have become like a family to me now and, in 10 years, I have never found myself in such an unpleasant situation. I've always thought that you learn, understand and start again from your mistakes. What happened will lead me to try to improve further as a man and as a professional."
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