Formula 1 teams are renowned for their innovation, pushing the boundaries of technology to make their cars go faster.
The same mentality exists off-track. Capturing one of the world’s fastest sports on camera isn’t easy, but the series continues to find new ways to advance broadcast technology.
Director of Broadcast and Media Dean Lock said in an interview: “There’s a new element every week.”
The series will have between 23 and 28 trackside cameras per race, plus 10 in the pitlane and a camera on a helicopter for aerial photography. These are complemented by miniature cameras on all cars, allowing you to see the driver’s face in front, behind and in the cockpit. Footage is broadcast live from each car, with information such as speed and his G-forces collected from around 300 sensors.
However, Formula 1 was keen to bring fans even closer to the drivers during the broadcast. The success of the Netflix series Drive to Survive proves the popularity of the human side of the sport. The challenge in F1 was to maintain personal drama once the race started.
One of the biggest broadcast advances in Formula 1 this year is the helmet camera. Following last year’s trials, a 10 mm x 10 mm, or less than half-inch, camera is mounted on most driver’s helmets at eye level, giving fans the opportunity to also look through the visor from the driver’s position. It is .
This means the producer can switch to the driver’s point of view in real time. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was battling Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for the lead at the season-opening race in Bahrain when a helmet camera went off. Fans were able to see him in action shifting gears and adjusting the steering wheel in the cockpit while looking in the mirrors as Leclerc passed Verstappen in the race to win.
“It shows what a driver has to do while driving at 200 mph. He thinks of strategy, talks on the radio, drinks, [operate] All the systems in the steering wheel,” says Locke. “Having one hand on the wheel while they’re doing something else is pretty cool.”
The basic premise of the helmet camera was to convey the driver’s point of view, but Haas’ Kevin Magnussen said his position in the car was even lower than what was broadcast. “With that camera, you can see the nose arch of the car, but we can’t see it,” he said. You can only see it from the side.”
Magnussen thought it was a “cool sight” for fans and the closest thing to being in a car, but admitted it was difficult for drivers to double-check and assess their driving. .
Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guan Yu is also difficult.
“Analyzing my driving line compared to other drivers is a nightmare,” he said. “But it’s very cool footage for the team, especially for the fans. It’s for the audience. It’s less private for the team because they can see what they’re changing on the Switch.”
When a similar camera angle was used in the electric racing series Formula E, the team requested that the steering wheel screen be blurred to avoid revealing the secret. But F1 is more open and less blurry, showing fans how the driver makes constant changes via his steering wheel, such as brake bias and engine settings.
Another way Formula 1 has brought fans inside the cockpit is by mounting cameras behind the foot pedals. The point of view last appeared in his 2000, but earlier this year a camera was installed under the car’s feet to show McLaren’s Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo’s footwork on the accelerator and brakes. The team helped race officials mount cameras and find a way to mount small lights in the enclosed footwells, but without adding any noticeable weight to the car.
“Great legs!” Norris said jokingly. “All I can see now is that the pedals are slightly out of position because they are slightly tilted. You can see how much you are pushing and so on.”
Formula 1 is also the first in Spain to experiment with drones using cameras for live broadcasts. This is what Locke called the “test in the air” approach. This gave fans a closer look at the aerial view from many corners compared to traditional helicopter shots.
Locke admitted that the drone didn’t get the shot “we wanted” and that it’s unlikely that drones will replace helicopters for aerial photography.
“But maybe in the future,” he said. “We do a lot with our helicopter use, which is good for our sustainability.”
Formula 1 is making camera footage available in “Drive to Survive,” but is improving its own broadcasts with feedback from the show’s producers.
“When they first came out, it was really funny just seeing them through a different lens,” Locke said. “There are some elements that we looked at and said, ‘That’s a really good way to tell that story. Can we do it live instead of months later?'”
But the biggest lesson we’ve learned from the success of the Netflix show is that we need to get closer to Driver, whom Rock called “our sport’s hero.”
“We’re going to stand behind the car and look at whatever we can do to open the car up and make it human,” he said. “We found out about this amazing thing through team radio when we heard the drivers stressed out and then interviewed them while they were out of the car, hot and sweaty. I was able to.
“We are very fortunate to have access.