Williams’ Carlos Sainz says Formula 1’s TV coverage is going “overboard a little” by showing driver’s girlfriends while missing overtakes during races.
During Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix, fans watching at home missed some on-track action, including Fernando Alonso chasing down Lewis Hamilton, who had a brake issue, for seventh place in the final laps.
In the final stages, TV coverage focused on McLaren’s Lando Norris chasing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for second place.
However, at various points during the race, high-profile girlfriends and celebrity guests were shown watching on from the garages.
Sainz’s recovery drive from the back of the grid to 10th place was also rarely featured on the world feed, which is supervised by F1.
The Spaniard, 31, told Spanish radio station El Partidazo de COPE that F1 bosses should not lose sight of the main track action.
“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,” said Sainz.
Aston Martin’s Alonso, who inherited P7 from Ferrari’s Hamilton, also criticised F1’s TV coverage. The Spanish two-time world champion replied to a post on X, quoting him telling his pit wall he would “disconnect the radio” if they spoke to him on every lap.
“With pole position secured for the private radio broadcast, time to fine-tune the main coverage and bring all the on-track excitement to the fans! Vamos!” Alonso wrote with a laughing face emoji.
Drivers’ wives and girlfriends have become even more popular in recent years following the rise of social media and the Netflix series Drive to Survive.
Sainz’s girlfriend, model Rebecca Donaldson, Norris’ partner, actress Magui Corceiro and Charles Leclerc’s girlfriend, influencer Alexandra Saint Mleux, all have huge online followings of their own.
“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,” said Sainz.
“But [they only should] if the competition is respected and you are always showing the important moments of the race.
“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.”
An F1 spokesperson said: “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.”
