Sainz slams TV focus on “celebrities and girlfriends”, F1 responds

Carlos Sainz believes that FOM should change its approach to the Formula 1 broadcast in order to “respect the competition” rather than “exaggerating” the coverage by featuring "celebrities and girlfriends”.

In recent days, many fans and experts have shared their complaints on social media about the lack of coverage given by FOM to the battles between drivers on the track and the increased presence of girlfriends and celebrities in the pits. The changing coverage reached a head this weekend when a battle between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in the closing stages of the Singapore Grand Prix was missed, and Sainz's own on-track dramas failed to make the cut. 

The Spanish racer has since criticised FOM, which is in charge of Formula 1 television coverage. In the aftermath of the grand prix, Sainz told Cadena COPE's El Partidazo that while reaction shots from friends and family added to the broadcast, F1 may have now 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.” 

However, for the Madrid native, there is a line that should not be crossed, and that line was crossed in Singapore. In the race, FOM's approach meant that fans were unable to enjoy the comebacks that he and Alonso staged over the race. 

Carlos Sainz, Williams

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

“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.”  

FOM responded to the Spaniard’s criticism, arguing that it seeks to strike a balance between on-track action and “context moments” showing the reactions from friends and family.  

"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.”