1 week ago
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Carlos Sainz has hit out at Formula One's broadcasts of races following the Singapore Grand Prix, saying that the coverage often goes 'overboard showing celebrities and girlfriends'.
Sainz criticised the sport after his surge from the back of the field to 10th at the end of Sunday's race was largely absent from the broadcast.
The Marina Bay Street Circuit is notoriously difficult to overtake on, and the former Ferrari man successfully moved up eight places in a thrilling end to an otherwise largely uneventful final phase of the race.
The camera did, however, regularly cut to show Sainz's girlfriend, Rebecca Donaldson, and Lando Norris's girlfriend, Magui Corceiro, in the paddock.
Fernando Alonso's efforts to reel in Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was also ignored, with the live feed instead choosing to focus on Max Verstappen's tussle for second place with Lando Norris - which also drew complaints from fans.
While individual broadcasters such as Sky Sports control their own coverage around a race weekend, the Grand Prix itself is controlled by a lone world feed. This leaves the individual broadcastersat the mercy of Formula One's production decisions.
Carlos Sainz has hit out at Formula One's broadcasts of races following the Singapore Grand Prix, saying that the coverage often goes 'overboard showing celebrities and girlfriends'
Netflix's 'Drive to Survive' has revolutionised Formula One, drawing in younger audiences who have a tendency to focus on the individual drivers and their personal lives rather than the sport
In an interview with Spanish radio station El Partidazo de COPE, Sainz was asked about his impressive move from 18th to tenth not being shown.
The Williams driver said: 'It’s becoming a bit of a trend, which must have worked for them at one time, when people found it interesting to see our girlfriends, to see famous people on television, the reactions.
'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 this has worked in the past, but only 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 or five overtakes I did at the end, nor did they show Fernando’s pursuit of Lewis, they missed a lot of things. The other (showing the off-track things) is fine, but don’t lose sight of the main thing. For me, they go overboard a little by showing the celebrities and girlfriends.'
Netflix's 'Drive to Survive' has revolutionised Formula One, drawing in new, younger audiences who have a tendency to focus on the individual drivers and their personal lives rather than the sport itself.
A Mercedes Instagram reel posted on their official account showed George Russell's girlfriend Montero Mundt reacting to his victory gaining 7.8million views. For context, their two following reels had a combined viewership of 4.6million.
