Start, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2025

Formula 1 fans watching the Mexican Grand Prix during a ferry crossing were shocked when an “adult film” was shown by mistake.

The Argus quoted a passenger who reporting seeing “kids [running] out of the recliner lounge area screaming.”

“Some parents came out and they were asking the man who worked there to sort the TV out, they were saying ‘there’s hardcore porn on the TV’,” she added. “I couldn’t see it, but it was audible.”

The incident occured during the crossing from Dieppe in France to Newhaven in the UK on October 26th, which was disrupted by a technical fault on the ship. The operator took the decision to return the ferry to France, resulting in a lengthy delay.

A spokesperson for DFDS told the newspaper some passengers requested to watch the race on the television screens in the lounge area. However its staff were unaware what programme was due to be broadcast on the channel after Lando Norris scored his victory at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez two weeks ago.

“During the delay, a group of passengers asked if they could watch the F1 grand prix on the TV in the onboard lounges,” said the spokesperson.

“Unfortunately, the crew were not aware that once this programme finished, the next item to be broadcast was an adult film. Once the crew were alerted to the content by a passenger the channel was swiftly changed.”

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The ferry operator has taken action to prevent a repeat. “Moreover, the channel has now been removed from the list of available stations on the ship to ensure that this will not happen again,” the spokesperson added.

“We are very sorry for the understandable upset and anger that this caused for the families onboard who unfortunately viewed this content,” said DFDS.

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