Spaniard Carlos Sainz is standing by his criticism of the television coverage of this month’s Singapore Grand Prix, and added he was unimpressed by the “viral” global over-reaction to his comments.
The Williams driver said he had not wished to cause any offence by observing there had been too much focus on celebrities and girlfriends at the expense of the racing on October 5.
“My comments were a bit blown out of proportion,” he said before this weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
“The fact that I mentioned the girlfriends, or the Wags [wives and girlfriends], or whatever you like to call them, brought a bit of spice to the comment, and it went more viral worldwide.
“In Singapore, the broadcaster didn’t do a good job. I mean, there are other races where they do an incredible job and show us things, incredible things and track action, but for Singapore it was not good,” the 31-year-old added.
Sainz’s comments were widely published after the Singapore race.
A spokesperson for Formula One reacted to Sainz’s observations, defending the sport’s television coverage and saying it sought to balance important moments with reactions from grandstands, high-profile guests and locations.
Sainz has been in good form for Williams in recent races and carved through the field on his way to finishing 10th from 18th on the grid at Singapore.
“They missed way too much track action, but that doesn’t mean it’s a criticism of them or the way they do their job,” he said.
“It’s a shame that on a track where it’s so difficult to overtake, they missed so many on-track battles.
“I hope they didn’t take it personally or take it too hard, because it was just a simple critique of Singapore, which was not good enough,” he added.
The upcoming United States Grand Prix was declared a heat hazard event overnight, making it the second race in succession to be labelled as potentially dangerous by the ruling body, the International Motoring Federation.
In a statement, race director Rui Marques said an official weather forecast had predicted a heat index higher than 31C during Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix race.
The announcement, which was also made at the Singapore Grand Prix two weeks ago, enables a rule that allows drivers to take up an option to wear cooling vests that circulate cool liquid to control core body temperatures in their cars.
The ruling on declaring a heat hazard race was introduced after the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, where many drivers suffered adversely from high temperatures and humidity.
But the vests, scheduled to be a mandatory feature at heat hazard events next year, are not popular with all the drivers.
Those who take up the option must have 500 grams of ballast added to their cars to avoid any competitive advantage.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull explained in Singapore why he did not intend to take a vest.
“I haven’t used it and I am not intending to because I feel like this is a driver’s choice,” the Dutchman said.
– AFP