While social media perception suggests that the Singapore Grand Prix coverage was swamped with cutaways to the drivers’ girlfriends and other celebrities, just how much of the coverage was truly given to off-track considerations?

With some important on-track moments missed during the Singapore GP last weekend, a general feeling on social media was that the TV coverage had given too much time to showing the drivers’ girlfriends on screen; a sentiment that was backed up by comments by Carlos Sainz afterward, as his amazing comeback drive went unnoticed by the TV cameras.

What did Carlos Sainz say?

Sainz recovered from the back of the grid after a qualifying disqualification at Marina Bay, slicing his way to 10th place; most of this comeback drive went unnoticed by the TV cameras.

Separately, on the final lap, Lewis Hamilton’s wayward tour of the Singapore GP circuit also went untelevised as he battled to get his car home without any brakes; all the while, he monitored the gap behind him to ensure Fernando Alonso didn’t catch and pass.

High-profile moments like these being missed on the TV coverage led to some social media outcry and criticism lambasting the decisions of the FOM broadcast team, while Sainz himself suggested perhaps the TV coverage was guilty of showing the reactions of celebrities and drivers’ partners and families rather than focusing on the off-track matters.

Speaking to El Partidazo de COPE, he 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,” he added, “only if the competition is respected and you are always showing the important moments of the race.”

It’s understood that Sainz’s answers came after being asked about the topic through several similar questions, rather than being a topic on which the Spaniard was eager to get stuck into upon his return to the media pen.

But is the perception of the TV coverage accurate? Just how much were viewers robbed of potentially seeing a decisive overtake, instead being shown a video of someone like Alexandra Saint Mleux or Margarida Corceiro watching the TV screens in the garages? PlanetF1.com took the time to pore through the world feed footage of the race to get some answers…

For clarity, any cuts away from live, on-track action have been noted.

Lap 3/62 – Cut away to McLaren team principal, Andrea Stella.

Lap 4/62 – Cut away to the McLaren pit wall.

Lap 5/62 – Cut away to the race start replay.

Lap 7/62 – Cut away to McLaren CEO, Zak Brown.

Lap 8/62 – Cut away to Ferrari team principal, Fred Vasseur.

Lap 11/62 – Cut away to Mercedes team principal and CEO, Toto Wolff.

Lap 11/62 – Cut away to Racing Bulls CEO, Peter Bayer.

Lap 14/62 – Cut away to replay of Gabriel Bortoleto’s wing damage and Lando Norris brushing the wall.

Lap 15/62 – Cut away to actress and model Margarida Corceiro, Lando Norris’ girlfriend.

Lap 21/62 – Cut away to Aston Martin CEO and team principal, Andy Cowell.

Lap 21/62 – Cut away to the McLaren pit crew in the garage, watching the race.

Lap 25/62 – Cut away to replay of Lewis Hamilton’s slow stop.

Lap 28/62 – Cut away to replay of Oscar Piastri’s slow stop and Bearman v Albon battle.

Lap 32/62 – Cut away to Kimi Antonelli’s race engineer, Pete Bonnington.

Lap 33/62 – Cut away to fans in the grandstand.

Lap 34/62 – Cut away to Lance Stroll’s family.

Lap 34/62 – Cut away to replay of Pierre Gasly’s skirmish with the wall.

Lap 35/62 – Cut away to fans in the grandstand.

Lap 36/62 – Cut away to model Rebecca Donaldson, Carlos Sainz’s girlfriend.

Lap 37/62 – Cut away to replay of Max Verstappen lock-up and Ocon v Gasly battle.

Lap 38/62 – Cut away to replay of Hadjar v Alonso battle.

Lap 39/62 – Cut away to McLaren Racing Director, Randeep Singh.

Lap 42/62 – Cut away to replay of Lando Norris’ brush with the wall.

Lap 43/62 – Cut away to replay of Alonso v Albon battle and Tsunoda v Colapinto v Hulkenberg battle.

Lap 45/62 – Cut away to replay of Hulkenberg’s off.

Lap 53/62 – Cut away to replay of Verstappen v Norris battle.

Lap 60/62 – Cut away to replay of Kimi Antonelli’s overtake on Lewis Hamilton.

Lap 61/62 – Cut away to replay of Leclerc and Hamilton swap.

Lap 62/62 – Cut away to the McLaren pit wall after clinching the Constructors’ title.

Lap 62/62 – Cut away to Toto Wolff after George Russell’s win.

Are the criticisms of the TV coverage fair?

As can be noted above, on-screen moments for drivers’ girlfriends were very few and far between, and it took 24 minutes into the race for the first appearance of an F1 driver’s girlfriend.

Of the 30 cuts away from the track, only two featured F1 driver girlfriends, and only one featured an F1 driver’s family.

Of the 27 other clear cuts, 13 were replays of race action, 11 included shots of key race personnel from teams, and two shots were of the fans in the grandstand.

In 1 hour and 44 minutes of live race broadcast, just 20 seconds of it was taken up by F1 drivers’ girlfriends.

It must be noted that showcasing a driver’s partner or family on screen is hardly anything new. Think back to the late 1990s, when Erja Hakkinen, then-wife of Mika, was almost as famous as her illustrious husband as she sat in the McLaren garage.

PlanetF1.com understands there hasn’t been any shift in focus in terms of broadcasting decisions in order to show more celebrities or the partners of the drivers, with FOM’s footage always having shown people of note, whether that be an interested celebrity, a key paddock person, or a person with a personal connection to a driver on track, during Grand Prix coverage.

Given just how few seconds of the Singapore GP coverage were given over to non-racing matters, this does seem to be the case.

However, that doesn’t mean that FOM’s broadcast team is tuning out criticisms. Feedback regarding broadcast decisions will be taken on board to help with further adaptation and improvement.

PlanetF1.com approached FOM for comment, with a spokesperson clarifying, “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 provides 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.”

 

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