- Dave Hughes has slammed TV coverage of the Bahrain GP
- Comedian accuses broadcasters of having pro-British bias
Australian comedian Dave Hughes has publicly blasted the recent Formula One coverage from Bahrain, accusing broadcasters of a pro-British bias that snubbed race winner Oscar Piastri by preventing fans from seeing the moment he took the chequered flag.
Piastri cruised to victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend, dominating the 57-lap contest from pole position.
It marked Piastri’s second win of the season after the 24-year-old also finished first at the Chinese Grand Prix in late March.
However, instead of showing Piastri crossing the line on Sunday, the TV broadcast focused on the battle between Brits George Russell and the Aussie’s McLaren teammate, Lando Norris.
Piastri’s achievement was relegated to a small window on the screen and more than a few Aussie fans were seeing red.
‘It’s the last lap, there’s like seconds to go, Oscar Piastri’s about to win, the Aussie bloody champ,’ Hughes said in a video posted on Instagram.
Dave Hughes has publicly slammed the recent Formula One coverage as Oscar Piastri stormed to victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix (pictured)
Aussie Oscar Piastri won the race but the TV broadcast focused on the battle for second
‘You wouldn’t even know he’s in the race, crazy.
‘At least they mentioned it but it’s still not on the big screen. Where’s Piastri? He’s got two more corners to go. That’s not Piastri, that’s Norris, who’s third.
‘Can we see the winner cross the line, for f**k’s sake,’ Hughes fumed.
‘Oh, hang on, we’ve got it, there it is, he’s in a little box.’
As commentator David Croft announced Piastri had won the race, Hughes blew up.
‘Does he? What’s the f**king camera on these two for then? It’s a joke.’
Hughes was not the only one who felt that way, with former boxing champion Danny Green describing the snub as ‘disgusting’.
Sunrise’s Mark Beretta also replied, saying: ‘Spot on Hughesy! Infuriating!’
Oscar Piastri (pictured left) has shortened to a joint-favourite to win the Drivers’ Championship alongside teammate Lando Norris (right)
Supercars drive David Reynolds also voiced his agreement with the frustrated comedian.
Meanwhile, Piastri has since shortened to a 10/11 joint-favourite to win the 2025 Drivers’ Championship following his win at Bahrain.
The other favourite in the market is Piastri’s McLaren team-mate Lando Norris – who has a win and three podium finishes through four races this season.
Reigning four-time driver’s champion Max Verstappen has widened in the market, with the Dutch driver now a 12/1 third-favourite to claim his fifth straight title.
Verstappen had a strong start to his 2025 campaign, finishing second in the Australian GP before securing a third-place finish at the Chinese GP and a win at the Japanese GP.
He had to settle for a sixth-placed finish in Bahrain, however – and has dropped to third in the driver standings on 69 points.
Norris and Piastri currently lead the standings with 77 and 74 points respectively.
Norris dominated Piastri last season in qualifying, beating the Aussie 21-3 in head-to-head. This year is very different with the pair 2-2 after four races.
Norris doesn’t appear to have a race-pace advantage over Piastri in 2025, either, and has freely admitted to being puzzled by his struggles to get the best out of the fastest car in the field this season.
