Speaking during media day in Austin, Carlos Sainz reflected on what he feels was an exaggerated response to his recent criticism of the television coverage during the F1 Singapore GP.
The broadcast skipped several on-track battles and overtakes at the Marina Bay circuit, choosing instead to focus on the front-runners and cut to shots of drivers’ significant others watching from the garages. Fernando Alonso’s late-race battle with Lewis Hamilton, as well as Sainz’s own charge through to the field failed to be shown on the world feed, sparking backlash as viewers expressed their frustration online.
Sainz was vocally critical post-race, arguing that coverage should strike a fairer balance between showcasing the paddock guests and the action unfolding on the track. His remarks quickly went viral, adding fuel to the ongoing discourse. Formula 1 later issued a statement defending its broadcast choices.
Sainz responds to his F1 Singapore GP broadcast remarks going viral
He addressed the hot‑button topic during media day in Austin, insisting that the response to his criticism grew far beyond what he intended. The Williams driver made it clear that his view hadn’t changed, but added that he felt his mention of the WAGs (wives and girlfriends) helped his comments gain traction online.
“I didn’t need an answer [from F1],” Sainz said.
“Like always, I think my comments were a bit blown out of proportion. I think the fact that I mentioned the girlfriends or the WAGs, however you call them, it brought a bit of spice to the comment and went a bit more viral worldwide than maybe what it should have been: just a simple critique.
Sainz continued: “I think it’s clear that in Singapore, the broadcast didn’t do a good job. I mean, there are other races where they do an incredible job and they show us incredible things and incredible track action. For me, Singapore was not good.”
F1 broadcast team should be open to constructive criticism
The Spaniard clarified that he intended his remarks to taken as constructive criticism, not as a personal attack on the broadcast team.
“But the same thing, I have good weekends in my life where I perform at a very high level, and other weekends I don’t do a good job, and you guys analyse it, you give me a rating,” Sainz explained. “I did a four out of 10, and by the time you tell me I did a 10 out of 10.
“Obviously, everyone has their own right to say. For me, Singapore was just not good enough and they missed way too much track action, but that doesn’t mean it is a criticism of them in the way they do the job.”
He added: “Singapore as a race is difficult to overtake, and we miss so many on-track battles, and at the time, I mentioned the girlfriends, but looking back, they were not shown too much; they were more focused on Lando [Norris] vs Max [Verstappen], like there was going to be an accident or an overtake.
“When you look at it, there was never going to be any action, but I hope that they didn’t take it personally, or too hard, because it was just a simple criticism of Singapore not being good enough.”
