In the Singapore Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso expressed his displeasure over the radio after a slow pit stop dropped him from eighth to 15th. When engineer Andrew Vizard told him there were 34 laps to go, the two-time Formula 1 champion replied: «If you speak to me every lap, I will disconnect the radio.»
Alonso did not fully appreciate the attention his radio outburst received in Singapore, and responded on X to say: «With pole position secured for the private radio broadcast, time to fine-tune the main coverage and bring all the on-track excitement to the fans!»
The Spaniard’s criticism continued two races later when F1 went to Mexico. Alonso was unhappy with the fact that several drivers were able to cut the first corner at the start without giving back a position.
“They broadcast it all in the radio that we do, privately,” Alonso said following the skirmish on the opening lap of the Mexico GP. “Hopefully they broadcast this and they see the turn one, two. Hello? Did it not broadcast turn one, two?”
The double world champion’s comments did not, in fact, make the live feed.
But F1’s director of broadcast and media, Dean Locke, has stressed in an exclusive interview with Autosport that his team at Biggin Hill, which is responsible for F1 broadcasts, is «not a mouthpiece» for drivers.
«We have a responsibility to tell the story fairly and accurately — so we don’t publish anything that is misleading or has other intentions,» Locke said. «Fernando is incredible; what he can do in that car and then still have time to think about it is admirable. But we are not his mouthpiece.»
Fernando Alonso felt that mostly his on-board radio was being broadcast.
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
«Our goal is to stay honest in the story and get the fans involved,» Locke added. «It’s great what kind of stories we can tell, how we can show the race from the perspective of two teammates and things like that. But we have to be careful, because sometimes a driver is critical of his team without knowing all the facts.
«Then we have to guard against misrepresentation. We want to bring excitement, take the fans into the cockpit and show who the driver really is — but without overdoing it or sensationalising it. I also remember that Fernando used to do his on-board radio in Italian, and when we subtitled it all into English, he stopped doing that. So yes, sometimes there are other intentions behind such things. We try to deal with that wisely.»
Feedback from drivers
But Alonso isn’t the only driver who has been critical of F1’s coverage, with fellow countryman Carlos Sainz also speaking out against the broadcasts following the Singapore Grand Prix.
In his case, Sainz was unhappy with the focus on «celebrities and girlfriends» in the coverage, which he said came at the detriment of the racing action on-track. His comments came after he enjoyed a strong advance in Singapore with five overtaking runs, which were barely shown on screen.
This leds to questions over what contact F1’s Media and Technology Centre in Biggin Hill has with the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, and whether the teams and drivers provide feedback on the broadcasts.
«That’s a good question, because they didn’t actually know what our options were to, for example, bleep, mute or filter what’s being said,» Locke explained. «About a year ago, I went to a driver briefing to explain how the onboard radio process works so they understand that we are trying to protect them and show them in the best way possible how exceptional they are as athletes.»
Carlos Sainz was of the opinion that F1 direction had lost sight of the track action.
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
With regards to the footage included in a race broadcast, Locke says F1 «sometimes» gets feedback from the teams or people around a driver, «but honestly not often,» he adds.
«I think some of the comments about that were taken a bit out of context,» Locke adds in relation to Sainz’s remarks. «During that race, for example, we showed a shot off-track three times, and not even during the action itself. We do have a responsibility to show the whole atmosphere of the event: what happens on the track, but also around it. That includes footage of the grid, the fans, or the podium afterwards.»
This, Locke explained, is to ensure that F1’s broadcast appeal to its diverse audience, which he said includes people who tune in for the race and others that want to soak up «the whole experience around it».
«If we only showed close-ups of cars on the track, you wouldn’t even know what track we’re at,» he said. «We are fortunate that many circuits really have their own vibe — think Abu Dhabi, Austin or Monza — and we need to convey that atmosphere. That’s something stadium sports, like soccer, have less of.
«A Manchester United stadium is visually similar to many other stadiums, but every F1 event has its own character. So we have to capture the event as best we can, in every way we can. But at the core, it’s all about the action on the track, that’s what it’s all about. The more intense that action, the better.»
Focus on title fight
Something that F1 management must also take into account, especially as the season finale approaches, is the title fight.
«There are solid battles going on at the moment, for example with the McLarens, so we have to be fully tuned into that and convey that well to the fans,» Locke explains. «But again, the action on the track is the priority. However, often a lot is happening at once and the team works very hard every week to puzzle out exactly how we can best show that.»
This happens not only during the race, but also before the race. As an example, Locke cites the Mexican Grand Prix.
«For example, there was a lot of discussion about the first corner in Mexico, because we knew something could happen,» he said in reference to the opening lap drama that often hits the race. «The question then was: should we take a wider camera shot so we can also show the run-out lanes? All our directors and producers work full-time, so they can evaluate after each race what went well and what could be better.»
The F1 directors were already looking at the best options to capture the chaos at Turn 1 before the start of the race in Mexico.
Photo by: Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 via Getty Images
According to Locke, some improvements have also already been made this year to show those battles on track, including picture-in-picture. For example, on the big screen, the main duel can be highlighted while on a smaller screen, the graphics for the intermediate position show a different fight.
«Some of the innovations we’ve introduced this year help us show more fights and stories at the same time,» Locke said. «Qualifying is a good example: we now have three independent time clocks and can use the bar on the left side of the screen to tell the story of ten drivers all within fractions of each other on their final lap of Q3.
«As I mentioned earlier, the same goes for picture-in-picture images and similar techniques. This allows us to occasionally picture the leader, even if they are driving relatively quietly in the lead, while also following the other stories. The richer the story we tell, the better — but the action on the track always remains the most important.»
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