Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Formula 1, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton
Ryan Smart
Williams driver Carlos Sainz has criticised the TV direction of the Singapore Grand Prix by Formula 1.
George Russell won the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and McLaren's Lando Norris.
There was first-lap drama when Norris made contact with team-mate Oscar Piastri while trying to avoid hitting Verstappen at turn two.
The middle part of the Grand Prix saw very little notable action, with some drivers attempting to extend their first stints and gaining the ground they lost from their pit stops.
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Most of the major action occurred in the final laps, with Lewis Hamilton suffering a front left brake failure as he closed in on Kimi Antonelli for fifth place.
Hamilton lost a place to Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, but managed to navigate the final three laps and came home in seventh.
However, eighth-placed Fernando Alonso gained 45 seconds on the seven-time champion across those laps and finished just 0.4 seconds behind him.
It was enough to mean he was promoted to seventh when Hamilton received a five-second penalty for repeatedly cutting the track as he desperately attempted to get to the line.
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Fans watching the live action knew little about the battle, however, as F1's TV direction did not focus on it in their main broadcast - with onboard footage only available on the F1TV online service.
Instead, viewers saw Verstappen lead Norris to the chequered flag, despite the Red Bull driver having pulled out a comfortable enough gap that an overtake was not on for Norris unless in the event of a major error.
Once the chequered flag fell, directors cut to celebrations in the McLaren garage after their Constructors' Championship win was confirmed.
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Viewers therefore missed out on the Hamilton and Alonso drama that subsequently unfolded, but also all of Sainz's five overtakes in eight laps as he secured a dramatic 10th-placed finish, having pitted later than other drivers.
Fans made their anger clear on social media - particularly as the race otherwise featured few notable on-track overtakes for position.
And Sainz has become the second F1 driver to publicly speak out about the general TV coverage of F1, accusing directors of focusing too much on the drivers' wives and girlfriends, as well as celebrities, instead of the on-track action.
He told Spanish radio station El Partidazo de COPE: "Last weekend they didn't show any of the four or five overtakes I did at the end, nor did they show Fernando's pursuit of Lewis. They missed a lot of things.
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"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 [only] 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 things. For me, they go overboard a little showing the celebrities and girlfriends."
Alonso also aimed a dig at the broadcast in response to a tweet from F1's official account: "With pole position secured for the private radio broadcast [he threatened to disconnect his radio during the race], time to fine-tune the main coverage and bring all the on-track excitement to the fans! Vamos!"
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Formula 1 officially handles all TV direction at 23 of the 24 circuits on the 2025 calendar, with Monaco - which is controlled by the Automobile Club de Monaco - being the only exception.
An F1 spokesperson told BBC Sport: "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."