Carlos Sainz has openly criticized Formula 1’s television coverage, calling on FOM to “respect the competition.” The Williams driver believes the Singapore Grand Prix broadcast prioritized celebrity and girlfriend shots over crucial race action.
Over the past few days, F1 fans and pundits have been vocal about this growing trend. Many expressed frustration on social media as battles between drivers went unseen while cameras cut to the pits. One of the biggest missed moments was the late-race duel between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. Several of Sainz’s own overtakes also failed to appear on screen.
The Spaniard voiced his concerns on Cadena COPE’s El Partidazo, making it clear that the approach has gone too far.
“It’s becoming a bit of a trend,” he said. “It must have worked for them at one time, that people found it interesting to see our girlfriends, to see famous people on TV, their reactions and so on.
“I understand that if there is an overtaking manoeuvre, a very tense moment in the race, then showing a shot of their reaction is understandable. If the production team sees that it has worked in the past, then they will do it.”
Sainz argued that reaction shots have their place, but not at the cost of race coverage. “But as long as you respect the competition and always focus on the important moments of the race, last weekend they didn’t show any of the four or five overtakes I made at the end of the race, nor did they show Fernando’s pursuit of Lewis, they missed a lot of things,” Sainz said.
“So, the other stuff is fine, I get it, but you shouldn’t miss the most important things. For me, they even exaggerate a bit by showing the celebrities and girlfriends.”
F1 Defends Its Coverage Style
Formula 1 responded, defending its production strategy. It stated that the team aims to deliver a balance between race action and contextual storytelling.
“We always focus on giving our fans the best possible footage of the race and never compromise the key focus – the racing on track,” an F1 spokesperson said. “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 issue has reignited discussions among fans and experts about how much celebrity coverage belongs in Formula 1. Many hope FOM will shift the focus back to the racing itself in upcoming races.
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