Australian Grand Prix 2016, Melbourne - Race 1/21

[Irish_Tom]

So, quali is back to Melbourne spec until further notice…

 

[utajoker]

Have they stopped doing race edits?

 

[Marvin]

Sorry where have the drivers come out and SPECIFICALLY mentioned the Sky deal and lack of terrestrial coverage as a bad thing?

Sure they did the whole open letter GPDA thing but that wasn't specifically targeted at the TV contracts or TV in any way? They were complaining about the governing, rule making and decision making process which seems to lurch from one disastrous 'plan' to another without any thought whatsoever about the Engineers, drivers, teams, designers, paying public or, in fact, anyone. It's like they only have space in their heads for a single idea and when something new comes along it's all they can think about.

They didn't specifically say that the move from terrestrial TV was a bad thing, but then the letter is incredibly carefully written to not single out anything at all. However, I interpret the following as regarding the TV rights, but it is open to interpretation:

Formula 1 is currently challenged by...a decisive shift in the TV and media landscape.

The future directions and decisions of F1, be they short or long term, sporting, technical or business orientated should be based on a clear master plan. Such plan should reflect the principles and core values of Formula 1.

Formula 1 has undoubtedly established itself as the pinnacle of motorsport and as such one of the most viewed and popular sports around the world.

Source: http://wtf1.co.uk/gpda-letter-f1-2016/