F1 star Carlos Sainz blasts ‘girlfriends, famous people’ on race broadcasts
The Formula 1 world is turning on a growing trend from race directors to show far more action off the track than is happening on it.
Williams star Carlos Sainz has highlighted a growing issue that appears to be frustrating Formula 1 drivers and fans alike.
Mercedes driver George Russell took out last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, ahead of Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Aussie Oscar Piastri.
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Russell was rarely seen on the international broadcast as he cruised out in front, with race directors highlighting events such as Verstappen’s efforts to hold off Norris and Piastri’s ultimately unsuccessful battle to get onto the podium.
Sainz and fellow veteran Fernando Alonso should have provided plenty of highlights in the middle of the pack as they pulled off a number of audacious moves and both finished in the points at a track that is notoriously hard to overtake.
Yet virtually none of that action was shown during the race, with viewers instead treated to regular shots from inside pit lane, particularly some of the drivers’ glamorous partners.
Sainz came from 13th on the grid to snatch 10th, while Alonso hunted down Lewis Hamilton in the dying laps and ultimately grabbed seventh.
Shortly after Russell crossed the line, commentator Ted Kravitz said: “Fernando Alonso might yet get past Lew Hamilton as they make their way to Turn 13. They may both be suffering brake issues.
“We’re watching McLaren celebrating, we should be watching the track here because Fernando Alonso, who was 43 seconds behind Hamilton, crosses the line four-tenths of a second behind Hamilton.
“That was a desperate fight to the finish.”
F1 social media site @formaldehidoone discussed it in a video, with one of the contributors asked why the viewers missed the Alonso vs Hamilton battle.
“Because they’re too busy zooming in on the drivers’ girlfriends than watching the racing,” they replied.
“There’s absolutely no excuse to miss the fact that Lewis Hamilton had no brakes at the end of the race.”
Hamilton was later hit with a five-second time penalty for unsafe driving and exceeding track limits, dropping the Ferrari driver to eighth.
The F1 world has long been inhabited by the very rich and very famous, with Hollywood and sporting celebrities often seen among support staff in the team garages, while the drivers also typically date some extremely photogenic women.
Norris is dating Portuguese actress and model Margarida Corceiro, Sainz is in a long-term relationship with Scottish model Rebecca Donaldson and Russell has been with Spanish girlfriend Carmen Mundt for the past five years.
All three were shown regularly during the race, with viewers treated to two shots of Mundt post-race.
She was shown smiling and chatting with a photographer right after viewers had seen some McLaren celebrations for clinching the constructors’ title.
Less than a minute later, while Russell was being interviewed, the race director then quickly went back to an extreme close-up of the British star’s girlfriend.
Despite the fact his girlfriend is one of those often shown on TV, Sainz was left fuming by the lack of on-track action being shown to fans, as he told sports website El Partidazo de Cope.
If there is a moment of high drama involving the partner of a driver, it makes sense to cut to them in the paddock, but not at the expense of driver action in a sport that can struggle for highlights at certain tracks.
“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 said.
“I understand that if there is an overtake, a very tense moments 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 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 (thing) is fine but don’t lose sight of the main thing.
“For me, they go overboard a little showing the celebrities and girlfriends.”
X account Cytrus F1 highlighted the issue, sharing a video created by F1 fan page Yelistener that showed a number of exciting moments fans were unable to see in real time.
Both the Yelistener video and Sainz’s comments drew a huge response among the F1 community.
F1 Techy declared: “We don’t care about the drivers, grandmas, partners… when prioritising that on actual overtakes and track action, it means you need to reconsider the broadcasting/directing skills.”
X user Mr Kal wrote: “The broadcasting is ridiculous. Alonso closing in on Hamilton and they showed just the very end. There was a yellow flag that nobody knows what happened.”
Sam Bryson said: “I completely agree, F1 coverage frequently focus on the wrong thing, and the long never ending shots of girlfriends and celebs are so cringe.”
Nick_jamss said: “The broadcast has been s**t for yrs. They are always showing the crowd and the garage when stuff is happening on the track. I didn’t turn on the race to watch the crowd, just saying.”
Francois2236 stated: “Nobody and I mean nobody that watches F1 cares about anybody or anything else. We want to see the race. Not celebs or family. Just show the action on the track.”
Ian Irungu tweeted: “I saw George’s girlfriend more times than Russell himself.”
Yorkshire Tom added: “Worst coverage I’ve actually watched and I’ve been watching F1 for over 30 years.”
There was the odd opposing view, with David White offering: “It was the worst race I’ve ever seen … it was a complete parade. The only bright spot was showing the wives and girlfriends of the drivers.”
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Sporttify fired back: “If Carlos has that much of a problem, maybe stop bringing your girl to the paddock! It’s F1, not a silent retreat — glamour comes with the game! ️ Can’t handle the spotlight? Don’t step on the grid.”
An account called Corporate Legal Coach had a solid idea, writing: “They need a separate “sky sports” channel for the reality stuff. The main channel should focus on the race.”
We do wonder if there will be some discussions behind closed doors before viewers are presented with the United States GP in Austin, Texas on October 20 (AEDT).
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