Sainz frustrated with lack of midfield TV coverage: "No one sees the conclusion"
For the majority of races, the battle at the front of the grid is determined long before the chequered flag is waved. Yet more often than not there are some hard-fought battles in the middle of the pack lasting until the final lap. In the final race of the season, millions in prize money was at stake but the attention was directed towards Lewis Hamilton as the fireworks started to fly in Abu Dhabi.
In the press, the midfield battle is spoken about frequently. In the closing stages of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, many overtakes were made including Sergio Perez's "best move of his career" as described by himself. Nico Hulkenberg, who was bowing out of the sport, lost two places on the final lap as the battle unfolded. Yet all of this was missed and Carlos Sainz speaks of his frustration.
"Everyone is busy with it all weekend, but even the last turns in which I am still attacking cannot be seen on TV. Everyone is talking about this fight and no one sees the conclusion," Sainz tells Motorsport-Total.com.
Of course, everyone hopes that the fight at the front will become a lot more exciting, but as long as that is not the case, more attention can be paid to Formula 1.5. There are plenty of drivers out there fighting for their place and attention in F1, but now hardly getting any time on TV without it being their fault. Hopefully for those drivers this will be done better in 2020.