A Eulogy to Stand-Alone Post-Race Recaps

I’d consider myself a pretty avid Formula 1 fan — started at age 8 (1997) and have followed every single season, 2025 included.

Despite all the well-deserved criticism the F1TV app gets, I love watching old race recaps. The archive is a real treasure trove of long-forgotten F1 moments. I started with the 1989 season and, after many, many hours of watching, I’ve just begun the 2010 season.

There’s something so charming about those old recaps. They’re like a mini race documentary series. They featured insights about the circuit, weekend events so far, interviews, commentary on current rumors, the starting grid, and sometimes even more. They also provide important historical context.

Today’s race recaps, by comparison, feel so dull and cheaply made with the spliced up OG commentary. It genuinely hurts. Especially thinking ahead a few years, rewatching a season will give you just the race, instead of a holistic view of everything happening at the time: the drama, the fashion, the old tech, and so on.

Anybody else feel the same?