Carlos Sainz has criticised F1’s broadcasts of races after the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, insisting the coverage goes “overboard showing celebrities and girlfriends.”
While individual broadcasters control their overall coverage around a race weekend, the actual on-track footage is controlled by a singular world feed, directed by Formula 1.
The coverage during races regularly cuts to celebrities, girlfriends and family members in the garages, with Sainz’s partner Rebecca Donaldson shown in the Williams garage on Sunday.
Yet on the flip side, some fans have voiced their irritation online that Lewis Hamilton’s late brake issue, with Fernando Alonso closing in, was completely missed in the television coverage. Similarly, Sainz’s charge from the back of the field to 10th was also largely absent from the broadcast, in an otherwise largely uneventful latter phase of the race.
"It's becoming a bit of a trend, which must have worked for them once upon a time, when people found it interesting to see our girlfriends, to see famous people on TV, the reactions," Sainz told Spanish outlet El Partidazo de COPE after the race in Singapore.
"I understand that if there is an overtake, a very tense moment in the race, it is understandable that the production team might want to show a reaction shot if they have seen that it has worked in the past.
“But [they only should] if the competition is respected and you are always showing the important moments of the race.
"Last weekend they didn't show any of the four of five overtakes I did at the end. Nor did they show Fernando's pursuit of Lewis... they missed a lot of things."
As well as Donaldson, Lando Norris’s girlfriend Magui Corceiro and the family of Lance Stroll were shown on the coverage in Singapore, while some overtakes and battles on track were missed.
“Don't lose sight of the main thing,” Sainz added. “For me, they go overboard a little showing the celebrities and girlfriends.
"Sometimes there are so many VIPs in the paddock you can't even walk. We move by bike or scooter [in the paddock] because if you don't, you just can't get around."
In response, an F1 spokesperson said: "We always focus on giving our fans the best possible footage of the race and never compromise the key focus - the racing on track.
“Our team does a great job of covering a highly complex situation with multiple cars at different points on a track and also provides great context moments of the grandstands, high profile guests and the locations we race at. We are always in pursuit of excellence and improvement in what we deliver."
F1’s next race is the United States Grand Prix (17-19 October), which usually hosts a number of celebrities across the three days of action at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
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