Swearing outbursts, arguments and sackings…what is going on with F1?

It is like Formula 1 is trying to out-do the Netflix cameras this season, given the current spate of swearing and angry rows witnessed across the grid.

The weekly sackings at the FIA are becoming more like The Apprentice television series, only with Mohammed Ben Sulayem, rather than Lord Alan Sugar, pulling the trigger on the unsuccessful candidate while uttering the line: “You’re fired!”

In fact, the situation is so bad at the FIA HQ that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff made a tongue-in-cheek comment that “if you look at it in a positive way, it could have its own reality show with what’s happening at the moment”.

Perhaps a Big Brother-style, discreet camera set-up at the organisation would at least allow us to have some understanding as to what is happening and being communicated.

At the Qatar Grand Prix, Max Verstappen and George Russell fell out like two jilted contenders on Love Island, with the former claiming he “lost all respect” for the Mercedes driver after a row in the stewards’ office, which resulted in the Red Bull driver losing pole position.

And the ruthlessness at which Logan Sargeant, Esteban Ocon and possibly Sergio Perez have all been dispatched this year would surely rival that to any episode of Survivor.

So, why has this season become so overly-dramatic?

The elevated importance placed on personal profile

The increase in attention caused by platforms such as Netflix, plus the increase in TV cameras around the paddock, has undoubtedly stroked a few egos, along with social media, which is easily measured in the form of likes or follows.

While the number of news-getting journalists has dropped in the F1 paddock, the number of eyeballs globally has dramatically increased. Consequently, the importance placed on one’s own brand is seen as crucial and any such threat to that will be met with resistance.

And then there is also the Netflix effect. Certain characters are now happily leaning into the personas they have created for themselves in the show, often embellishing the role they play. The lines between reality and manufactured personas are increasingly becoming blurred by all the theatrics.

The tone was set at the start of the year.

After such a crushing, dominant display by Verstappen and Red Bull in 2023, there were the assumptions it would be repeated…