Sainz’s Critique of F1 Race Coverage Raises Questions Domenicali Shouldn't Ignore

“Last weekend they didn’t show any of the four or five overtakes I did at the end,” said Carlos Sainz during an appearance on Spanish radio station El Partidazo de COPE. “Nor did they show Fernando’s pursuit of Lewis … they missed a lot of things.”

Indeed, the broadcast of the race–which is officially known as the World Feed, and is produced by the F1 Media and Technology Centre in Biggin Hill, England–focused primarily on the front-running group of drivers. 

Yet while there were no overtakes or changes in track position among the top four past turn three of the opening lap, focusing on them was at least understandable given the circumstances of the race. McLaren was on the verge of clinching the World Constructors’ Title, whilst Max Verstappen was set to take another step forward as an unexpected underdog in the Drivers’ Title fight between himself, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

What has F1 audiences and drivers frustrated is that instead of showing midfield action like Sainz’s climb from P18 to P10 and Fernando Alonso battling a brake-less Lewis Hamilton, the broadcast production instead focused elsewhere.

“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 in response to the amount of times that visitors to the paddock, including celebrities or friends and family of the drivers, were shown on the World Feed during the grand prix. 

“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 … but [they only should] if the competition is respected and you are always showing the important moments of the race.”

Of note, this comes not long after F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, noted that more and more viewers, especially those in younger age groups, are choosing to watch shorter form content, such as recaps and social media clips, instead of the full-length races. 

"Maybe for us, who were born with this format, it's fine as it is, but there's a large segment of the audience that only wants to see the highlights,” said Domenicali.

"Today, everything is going very well, but precisely for this reason, we mustn't rest on our laurels but think about what the next step will be."

Domenicali suggested that one solution could be either shortening races or including more sprints, as there is an “issue of the length of the competitions.”

However, perhaps F1 would be able to better retain audience attention during races if it actually showed the competitions. 

While it’s heartwarming to see drivers’ loved ones being there to support them, it should not take away from the thing that fans have specifically tuned in to watch. And that is the pinnacle of motorracing; F1 cars on track, battles both big and small, and the exciting moments that are happening both at the front and the back of the grid.

As Sainz himself said, “The other [thing] is fine, but don’t lose sight of the main thing.”

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