A Twitter user posted a photo of Naomi Schiff along with a statement questioning her credentials for the TV part she is playing.
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Naomi Schiff is 28-year-old is a professional racing and stunt driver, and competed in the W Series back in 2019 before becoming the championship’s Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador. Schiff entered the Sky punditry team as an analyst for the 2022 season, and co-hosts Any Driven Monday on Sky Sports F1’s YouTube channel after race weekends. Schiff began karting when he was 11 years old and has since competed in prototype, GT, and single-seater cars, claiming the 2014 Clip Cup Asia Championship, the 2018 KTM GT4 X-Bow Battle Championship, and finishing second in the 2018 ADAC Zurich 24 Hours Nurburgring.
A Twitter user posted a photo of Schiff in her W Series racing gear, along with a statement questioning her credentials for the TV part she is playing. Her appointment became much more negative as a result of the article. As word of the message spread over ‘F1 Twitter,’ there was also a lot of support for Schiff. Schiff reposted the offending tweet, which is no longer visible due to the poster’s account being banned, and labeled it with a yawning caption.
The seven-time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton took to social media to defend Schiff after the broadcaster was singled out for criticism and bullying on Twitter. “Naomi is an ex-professional racing driver & totally qualified to give her opinion as part of the Sky team. She’s been a great asset since joining & we should welcome more representative broadcasting with open arms. Still have a long way to go to change these attitudes in sport.” tweeted the Mercedes driver.
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Schiff then issued a message on Twitter, thanking those who had backed her and urged people to utilize social media for the well being of society. “Thank you to everyone who has come to my defense. I appreciate all the love and support, none of you go unnoticed! Sadly the issue of online bullying, bashing, shaming etc. is one I don’t believe is going anywhere anytime soon. Social media, in some cases, gives voices to individuals who don’t deserve to be heard. So I encourage anyone reading this to not indulge in it or retaliate or seek revenge.”
“Remember that your words do have impact and that therefore we should do something positive with these platforms and be kind to one another. Lastly, I love my job and won’t let anyone turn down my ambition or passion because they are uncomfortable with the volume.” tweeted the Schiff.
