F1 | Journalist Michael Schmidt doesn't agree: "The media must have access to the Grands Prix"

The 1 Formula 2020 World Championship seems to be finding a starting point. After the cancellation, as expected, of Le Castellet, Liberty Media has published its ideal calendar, with the onset of hostilities on the weekend of July 5th in Zeltweg in camera, a bit as it had been announced. However, the issue regarding the presence of the media on the circuit is also taking center stage these days. Apparently the Formula 1 bosses want the bare minimum of journalists inside the paddock, with only the SkyUK to manage everything, while still being the FOM's reference TV. This made some people turn up their noses, and Michael Schmidt, reporter for AMuS he certainly didn't tell them to Liberty Media.

“Imagine if the only source of information for journalists around the world was a television signal – Schmidt said. Those who govern Formula 1 would be able to show us only what they want. It would be a similar situation to China, with the violation of press rights in the free world. We can be tested like any team principal, engineer or driver, and I remember that in Melbourne the only one infected was a mechanic, not a journalist, photographer or cameraman. The media is an indispensable part for Formula 1, when I am on site as a reporter, I can see if what I see on TV is true and I have the opportunity to investigate contradictions and discover new things. If I stay at home, I depend on other people's information."

Schimdt also said that Formula 1 could be in trouble if communications from the circuit are handled only by teams and drivers: “The messages some of them are sending right now are pitiful: conference calls with previously sent questions are the worst, and some of the pilots' social media posts couldn't be more banal. This could continue if the teams go well, even after the Coronavirus crisis. The media is doing its best to provide fans with information and stories in these lean times, and all those who dream of driving behind closed doors should remember this, otherwise it may be that the stands will remain empty once the public has access again ”.