Liberty Media has revealed plans to improve Formula 1’s broadcasts with new graphics and more in 2019.
The experience of watching a Grand Prix on TV has improved over the years with live data able to monitor a range of important information like fuel usage, tyre wear etc..
Graphics have also gotten better with the production team using the Halo as a speedometer among other changes, however, this year a key fundamental of the broadcasts is in focus to address a regular criticism.
“There’s a big push for 2019 to reflect the speed of the sport,” said F1’s head of TV and media Dean Locke to Autosport.
“There’s a rethink on all camera positions because if you’re in the grandstand and watch the cars, they look incredible, don’t they?
“Camera angles, or lenses, can cheat that quite a lot, and make them look not so dramatic and not quite as quick.
“So we looked at different ways to do that, a few little tricks. We’ve always been good at doing whip-pans to show the high speed of the cars, making them look a little bit edgier in places.
“There were some tracks last year – in Japan for instance – where we really highlighted where these cars are good.”
New camera positions on the cars themselves are also expected after some of the traditional locations, such as at eye level just behind the cockpit, were blocked out by Halo last year.
Another crucial area is trying to somehow make the reduced sound of the current V6 hybrids more intense for those that miss the old V8 and V10 screams.
“Audio has changed quite dramatically,” he added. “We’ve done a lot more around the car and on the car. If you look at the pictures, they tend to be at the front and the audio out the back.
“A lot of thought went into that in 2018, and a lot more for 2019.
“It is successful, but at some tracks, it’s better than others. The Honda engines sounded really good last year. We’ve done some really exciting stuff on that.”
Finally, there are renewed efforts to better help viewers better understand how a race in evolving through new live data.
“We have graphics that can actually explain, ‘He started on those tyres, he’s going to stop then,’ while actually making it more dynamic, because if the VSC comes out it can throw those kinds of things out,” Locke said.
“We’re using all the data from Friday and Saturday to come up with that algorithm of what we think will happen. If we can explain that in a simple and easy to read manner, it will be a huge win.”