Carlos Sainz believes Formula One is “going overboard” by placing too much focus on the reactions of drivers’ girlfriends and celebrities during live broadcasts, obscuring the drama of grand prix racing.
The Williams driver has criticised the sport after his surge from the back of the field to 10th at the end of the Singapore Grand Prix made little impression on the TV coverage from the Marina Bay Circuit on Sunday.
Also failing to make the director’s cut was a battle for points places between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton over the final laps of a race where Max Verstappen’s tussle with Lando Norris for second dominated the live feed. There were, however, plenty of shots showing Sainz’s girlfriend, Rebecca Donaldson, as well as Lando Norris’s girlfriend, Magui Corceiro, in the paddock.
On-track footage is controlled by a lone world feed, so local broadcasters – such as Sky Sports in the UK – can only show images supplied by Formula One during a 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 radio station El Partidazo de COPE.
“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.”
Sainz wants Formula One to address its apparent fixation with celebrity, and put the action first, adding: “The other [thing] is fine but don’t lose sight of the main thing. 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.”
Formula One responded to Sainz’s comments on Thursday, saying in a statement: “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 provide 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.”
The popularity of the Netflix series Drive to Survive has seen a growing following among younger viewers, as well as gaining a wider reach for F1 in the United States, with the drivers themselves pushed further to the foreground.
That has fostered more interest in their lives away from the paddock. Mercedes attracted 7.8m views for an Instagram reel that featured George Russell’s girlfriend Carmen Montero Mundt reacting to his victory on Sunday.
