Motor racing: Live on ITV... almost

ITV DEFENDED its Formula One coverage yesterday after it missed the incident which saw Mika Hakkinen crowned world champion.

A puncture to Michael Schumacher's Ferrari forced the German, lying third, to retireafter 32 laps, handing Hakkinen the title. But the incident was missed by ITV, which was screening advertisements.

Viewers later saw pictures "as live", but Paul Tyrrell, press officer for ITV's Formula One programmes, denied they had let down their audience.

"The commercial breaks are unavoidable because ITV is a commercial broadcaster," Tyrrell said. "If anything is missed during the ad break, we always show it. We do our utmost to time our breaks at the right moment. In sport, you can't be 100 per cent sure of what's going to happen in a 90-second frame."

He added: "Anyone who has watched ITV's coverage of Formula One will admit it's bigger and better than the BBC's. It has won more awards than theirs."