While social media perception suggests that the Singapore Grand Prix coverage was swamped with cutaways to the drivers\u2019 girlfriends and other celebrities, just how much of the coverage was truly given to off-track considerations?<\/p>\n
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\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
What did Carlos Sainz say?<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Separately, on the final lap, Lewis Hamilton\u2019s 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\u2019t catch and pass.<\/p>\n
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\u2019 partners and families rather than focusing on the off-track matters.<\/p>\n
Speaking to El Partidazo de COPE, he said: \u201cIt\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut,\u201d he added, \u201conly if the competition is respected and you are always showing the important moments of the race.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s understood that Sainz\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2026<\/p>\n
For clarity, any cuts away from live, on-track action have been noted.<\/p>\n
Lap 3\/62 \u2013 Cut away to McLaren team principal, Andrea Stella.<\/p>\n
Lap 4\/62 \u2013 Cut away to the McLaren pit wall.<\/p>\n
Lap 5\/62 \u2013 Cut away to the race start replay.<\/p>\n
Lap 7\/62 \u2013 Cut away to McLaren CEO, Zak Brown.<\/p>\n
Lap 8\/62 \u2013 Cut away to Ferrari team principal, Fred Vasseur.<\/p>\n
Lap 11\/62 \u2013 Cut away to Mercedes team principal and CEO, Toto Wolff.<\/p>\n
Lap 11\/62 \u2013 Cut away to Racing Bulls CEO, Peter Bayer.<\/p>\n
Lap 14\/62 \u2013 Cut away to replay of Gabriel Bortoleto\u2019s wing damage and Lando Norris brushing the wall.<\/p>\n
Lap 15\/62 \u2013 Cut away to actress and model Margarida Corceiro, Lando Norris\u2019 girlfriend.<\/p>\n
Lap 21\/62 \u2013 Cut away to Aston Martin CEO and team principal, Andy Cowell.<\/p>\n
Lap 21\/62 \u2013 Cut away to the McLaren pit crew in the garage, watching the race.<\/p>\n
Lap 25\/62 \u2013 Cut away to replay of Lewis Hamilton\u2019s slow stop.<\/p>\n
Lap 28\/62 \u2013 Cut away to replay of Oscar Piastri\u2019s slow stop and Bearman v Albon battle.<\/p>\n
Lap 32\/62 \u2013 Cut away to Kimi Antonelli\u2019s race engineer, Pete Bonnington.<\/p>\n
Lap 33\/62 \u2013 Cut away to fans in the grandstand.<\/p>\n
Lap 34\/62 \u2013 Cut away to Lance Stroll\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
Lap 34\/62 \u2013 Cut away to replay of Pierre Gasly\u2019s skirmish with the wall.<\/p>\n
Lap 35\/62 \u2013 Cut away to fans in the grandstand.<\/p>\n
Lap 36\/62 \u2013 Cut away to model Rebecca Donaldson, Carlos Sainz\u2019s girlfriend.<\/p>\n
Lap 37\/62 \u2013 Cut away to replay of Max Verstappen lock-up and Ocon v Gasly battle.<\/p>\n
Lap 38\/62 \u2013 Cut away to replay of Hadjar v Alonso battle.<\/p>\n
Lap 39\/62 \u2013 Cut away to McLaren Racing Director, Randeep Singh.<\/p>\n
Lap 42\/62 \u2013 Cut away to replay of Lando Norris\u2019 brush with the wall.<\/p>\n
Lap 43\/62 \u2013 Cut away to replay of Alonso v Albon battle and Tsunoda v Colapinto v Hulkenberg battle.<\/p>\n
Lap 45\/62 \u2013 Cut away to replay of Hulkenberg\u2019s off.<\/p>\n
Lap 53\/62 \u2013 Cut away to replay of Verstappen v Norris battle.<\/p>\n
Lap 60\/62 \u2013 Cut away to replay of Kimi Antonelli\u2019s overtake on Lewis Hamilton.<\/p>\n
Lap 61\/62 \u2013 Cut away to replay of Leclerc and Hamilton swap.<\/p>\n
Lap 62\/62 \u2013 Cut away to the McLaren pit wall after clinching the Constructors\u2019 title.<\/p>\n
Lap 62\/62 \u2013 Cut away to Toto Wolff after George Russell\u2019s win.<\/p>\n
Are the criticisms of the TV coverage fair?<\/p>\n
As can be noted above, on-screen moments for drivers\u2019 girlfriends were very few and far between, and it took 24 minutes into the race for the first appearance of an F1 driver\u2019s girlfriend.<\/p>\n
Of the 30 cuts away from the track, only two featured F1 driver girlfriends, and only one featured an F1 driver\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In 1 hour and 44 minutes of live race broadcast, just 20 seconds of it was taken up by F1 drivers\u2019 girlfriends.<\/p>\n
It must be noted that showcasing a driver\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
PlanetF1.com understands there hasn\u2019t been any shift in focus in terms of broadcasting decisions in order to show more celebrities or the partners of the drivers, with FOM\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Given just how few seconds of the Singapore GP coverage were given over to non-racing matters, this does seem to be the case.<\/p>\n
However, that doesn\u2019t mean that FOM\u2019s broadcast team is tuning out criticisms. Feedback regarding broadcast decisions will be taken on board to help with further adaptation and improvement.<\/p>\n
PlanetF1.com approached FOM for comment, with a spokesperson clarifying, \u201cWe always focus on giving our fans the best possible footage of the race and never compromise the key focus \u2013 the racing on track.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n