The cameramen of Formula One Management don’t just focus on Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Carlos Sainz, but also – and increasingly – on their stunning girlfriends in the pit boxes. Frank Woestenburg can certainly live with this, but he is becoming irritated by the American moral guardians of Liberty, as he writes in his latest Uppercut column.
You may have noticed, most Formula 1 drivers have pictures of women. They are heartily granted this. High heels, true love! However, something strange is happening. At a time when grid girls have been almost completely banned from the sport, the FOM cameramen who provide the TV coverage of all Formula 1 races can’t get enough…
Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso expressed their annoyance last month about the fact that during races, overtaking actions are missed because the direction increasingly opts for shots of female beauty in the pit boxes. Usually, these are the girlfriends of drivers or other prominent guests.
Charming Smile
Don’t get me wrong, personally, I have no problem with it. The eye also wants something. And if I have to choose between Lance Stroll overtaking Liam Lawson on the straight with the help of DRS in a fight for P13 or a charming smile from Kelly Piquet (Max Verstappen’s girlfriend) or a sultry, meaningful look from Rebecca Donaldson (Carlos Sainz’s girlfriend), I know what I would choose.
However, Alonso and Sainz do have a point, of course. Formula 1 on TV should be about action on the track. Zooming in on female beauty is fine, just not during the race, please.
“Formula 1 has traditionally been a sport of glitz and glamour. The celebrities in the paddock and on the starting grid are part and parcel of the spectacle, completing the illusion. For decades, the same was true for the grid girls. In the 1970s, they were provocatively dressed in short skirts, tight shirts, and plunging necklines, but as the years went by and societal norms changed, their outfits became more modest.
Standards and Values
Then came 2018, and the American owners of the sport decided to radically part ways with the grid girls. According to Liberty Media, they ‘no longer aligned with the brand values of Formula 1 and contemporary societal standards and values’.
Hypocritical? That’s an understatement. Because at the GP in Las Vegas, the only race organized by FOM itself, there are plenty of grid girls, under the pretext that they are part of American sports culture. In other words, Liberty maintains a double standard. Principles only count when it suits them.
Organizing an FIA Gala in Rwanda or F1 races in the Middle East? No problem! Grid girls in Las Vegas? The more, the merrier. And some ladies in the pit boxes are getting more air time than their racing partners behind the wheel. But grid girls in Monaco or Singapore, they are still off-limits.
Great Work
FOM did, however, respond officially to the comments made by Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso. “Our team does great work,” was one of the statements in the declaration.
Admittedly, I generally enjoy the TV broadcasts. But if Liberty is going to be hypocritical, they should also bring back the grid girls to the sport. It would certainly make for some beautiful images.”
