Formula 1: How to fix F1 coverage, according to Romain Grosjean

Romain Grosjean

How to fix Formula 1 coverage, according to Grosjean

An interesting idea.

Martin Macdonald

Tuesday 22 October 2019 11:00

Romain Grosjean reckons that having split-screen coverage of Formula 1 races would enable fans to keep an eye on the midfield battle as well as what is happening at the front.

Recently, drivers such as Grosjean and Carlos Sainz have complained that teams outwith the front three of Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull are not seen enough during races, which could potentially impact sponsorships.

The Frenchman wants duel screens in place so viewers can get the best of both worlds.

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“The fight we had at the end of the last lap in Singapore was I guess much more exciting than cars passing the line,” Grosjean told Motorsport.com

“So maybe having a double screen, where you can see still see the leading car crossing the line, and then the fight going on track on the other screen, would be quite cool.

“Sometimes you watch the races, it’s great to see Ferrari 1-2, but they’re just following each other and it’s not as sexy as seeing cars [racing].

“It was the same in Sochi. The midfield at one point was quite cool, and you could see very, very small margins between cars when [Alex] Albon was behind Kevin [Magnussen], he was coming back after the last safety car.

“And we were only seeing Charles [Leclerc] chasing [Valtteri] Bottas, which was also exciting, but sometimes you wish when you see less than two tenths between cars at the back you want to see that battle.”

Grosjean, who is the director of the Grand Prix Driver’s Association, has revealed that he has already spoken to Sainz about their concerns.

“We talked about it and we agreed,” the Haas driver added.

“The thing is the same feed is broadcasted to every TV. It’s Formula 1 who gives the feed to every TV.

“They could probably do a better job and maybe show a bit more of the battles because that’s what’s lacking and is what we like to see: cars close together, wheel-to-wheel.

“It was exciting to see Charles following Bottas, but after three, four laps the delta was not quite good enough [for an overtake to happen].

“But if there was anything good happening [elsewhere] it was replayed. It was like 15, 16 laps just on those two cars.”