The FIA has put out a press release detailing a number of decisions made by the F1 Commission when they met in Monaco today. Amongst those is the suggestion that Formula 1 reconsiders the distribution of points for the 2010 season, due to an expanded grid of 13 teams.
The F1 Commission also proposed a number of amendments to the sporting and technical regulations, which will be put to the FIA World Motor Sport Council for final approval tomorrow morning.
The proposed system would see points awarded as follows:
Position
Points
1st
25
2nd
20
3rd
15
4th
10
5th
8
6th
6
7th
5
8th
3
9th
2
10th
1
Additionally it's noted that the Brawn team will be allowed to change its chassis name from Brawn to Mercedes while the FIA and FOM will collaborate to enhance the communication and promotion of the championship. Further proposals are being considered to improve the show too:
A strong mandate has been given to the Sporting Working Group, a sub-committee of the F1 Commission made up of the FIA and F1 teams, to develop detailed proposals to improve the show. These will take effect from the 2010 championship.
More information will no doubt be forthcoming after tomorrow morning's WMSC meeting.
We had quite a relaxing weekend at Sidepodcast HQ, and I hope yours was of a similar nature. We are into a brand new week now, with Monday dawning probably quite dark and maybe even a little bit stormy. Here are some of the things we're talking about:
Mr C went a bit mad blogging yesterday, talking about the coverage that FOM provide compared to other motorsport series', plus a glimpse at that excellent 3D stuff we saw during the Abu Dhabi GP. He also wrote about those oh-so-unsuccessful overtaking regulations again, with a special mention to a special someone in the title.
In Formula 1 news, Alonso was spotted with his new Ferrari chums again, with some photographic evidence of he and Alonso getting on together. How will they fare as teammates this year? Will they be rivals? Or will they be best friends? And more importantly, how much interaction with Rob will Alonso have, because I am jealous!
After we talked recently about Notus not worried about signing a Malaysian driver for their team, it now looks as though we might find out who they've got on board very soon. Tony Fernandes has said they have one driver signed already, so with just one more to come, it might be soon. Then again it might not! You never can tell.
That's all for now. Let's hope Monday runs pretty smoothly for everyone, especially as we need to forget about Friday 13th! As per usual, I will see you in the comments.
There was a brief moment during the coverage of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when our minds were completely blown, and it wasn't when the fancy hotel changed from a dark blue hue to a slightly more orange one.
A few laps into the race, during the usual start replay sequence, the screen froze and a graphical representation of the field replaced the real video. A virtual camera then began to fly through the scene, from the front of the grid to the very back, passing every car as it did so.
Christine and I sat through the whole 20 second sequence with mouths agape, stunned at what we'd just witnessed. The live comments covering that moment retell the story rather well. There's no doubt in my mind that this will significantly kick Formula 1 coverage up a gear.
Unfortunately, nothing of any huge significance happened at the first corner, which is a shame. This meant a number of people were left scratching their heads as to what the point of showing it was. My guess is we were looking at a proof-of-concept that needed some real world testing before the season was done. On that front the technical execution was carried out flawlessly, and subtly dropped in amongst the standard replays.
To make the effect happen, I'm guessing a fixed camera was mounted high above the circuit and GPS data used to place the cars relative to each other. The scene was rendered with the correct liveries assigned and a camera flown through it. Not a cheap effect to produce, but well within Formula One Management's budget I'm sure.
At the moment, with such a brief look at the possibilities, one can only raise more questions. For example:
Can the virtual camera be controlled manually, or will a predetermined path be assigned pre-race?
How is the direction of a driver's helmet obtained, and was Webber really looking so far to the left?
Can the initial overhead camera be positioned anywhere on the circuit or will it be limited to first corner action?
Will broadcasters have any access to this technology beyond simply commentating on what they see?
Questions aside and looking at the bigger picture, if this technology gets a full rollout next season, imagine how much easier it would be for stewards to make judgement calls if they could fly around the scene of an accident at their leisure. How useful this could be for teams during post-race debriefs, and then imagine how much easier it would be for us watching at home to figure out what in the world happened during a moment of chaos.
If you didn't catch it the first time, or wouldn't mind seeing it again please watch the following video with an open mind. It's not so much what you are seeing, as what you could potentially be seeing.
If that footage was created at Monaco, you could see instantly who'd cut the chicane and penalise them appropriately. It no longer matters if a television director misses an incident, so long as the data is accurate (and we can only guess at measures of accuracy right now), the calls should be straightforward and more importantly, they should be almost instant.
I mentioned earlier that F1 needs to improve its coverage online, and I do think on that front it has a long way to go. However, in terms of the visual experience from the World Feed, the sport is heading in the right direction. This year we saw the return of ghost car overlays, we saw thermo-cam go mobile as it wandered around the pits in a predator-esque fashion and we saw more detail in the on-screen graphics that get shown during quiet periods.
No doubt further improvements can be made, and it's hard to know if FOM or FOTA are driving these changes. I do know that I like what I see, and I'd like to see even more of it in 2010 please.
Given that we're done with all that pesky weekend racing action for a while, I'm playing catch-up on a couple of things that should've been covered months ago.
Something that has been bugging me since August, is just what a raw deal Formula 1 fans get in terms of official information offered during a race.
In the latter half of this season, thanks largely to a rather expensive iPhone application, we do at least now know where all the cars are on track. Prior to that only Renault could be bothered to tell us what they were up to. Bernie, as ever, spent 2009 providing us with his ever fallible Live Timing system, which managed to go one better in the summer, going down for everyone at the track too.
You could argue that both Renault's and Bernie's solutions are provided free of charge, and this season, UK residents were able to watch all of the weekends sessions online.
I really should be grateful for what little I have, shouldn't I? Yes, I know some people have to put up with much worse coverage and maybe we just don't need more information?
In truth, my three months of continued disappointment with the F1 experience are born from watching a single IRL race back in August. As those with good memories will recall, many of us tuned in to watch Franck Montagny's auspicious debut in America's premiere open-wheeled series. A quick scan through the conversation shows one of the things that simply floored us during the race, was IndyCar Race Control.
This online dashboard is a feast of insight for any race fan. In addition to the main camera feed, you can choose to track onboard shots from three cars (two more than F1 offers), you also get a familiar live leader board, but when it comes to driver detail, it feels like you've entered another world. Pick a couple of guys or girls you're interested in following and you'll get direct feedback on the following details:
Head-to-head competition view
Interactive steering wheel position
Gear paddle selection and current gear
Car speed and current RPM
Throttle and brake usage
Driver radio
Commentary updates
Forget what was happening in the race, I could've played with the thing all night. I managed to squeeze data from six drivers onto my screen along with Live Commenting. Renault F1 do provide similar information for their cars but with the IRL you get all this data for every runner to contrast and compare. Truly staggering and open and free for anyone to use.
At present, Formula One has nothing that comes remotely close to a solution such as this. A combination of two websites and a mobile phone could see you get a little closer, but who's going to bother setting that up five times a weekend?
You could argue that I'm being unfair on Bernie here, IRL could be the exception right? Yes it could, but we also took it upon ourselves to watch and comment on the Bathurst 1000 in October, and would you believe the organisers of that event do a better job too?
Again, completely free of charge. Live timing, a car tracker and live audio/video all to be found in a centralised dashboard for anyone who cares to keep up with such things.
Formula One has fallen woefully behind its counterparts in recent times. I'm led to believe NASCAR is another step above what both IRL and V8 Supercars are able to offer fans, which must put our sport somewhere near the bottom of the pile. Just to ram the point home, I'll bring up the subject of 2CV racing. Yep we watched and commented on an endurance race featuring a collection of 4-speed Citroëns, and their Live Timing system was on par with the kind of thing you'll find on F1.com. Are you listening Bernie?
Will anyone wake up and make changes for 2010? FOTA has long promised to improve the experience for those fans watching at home. To a point they appear to have addressed some deficiencies in our television coverage, and I'll cover some of those in a later post, but are they aware of how big a mountain F1 has to climb when it comes to areas such as race control?
I think telemetry can only serve to enhance the viewing experience, it should be made available to those you are interested in such things. Maybe it's not everyone's number one priority, but I challenge anyone to try IRL's Race Control for one race and not wish something similar was available in F1.
Officials at Montreal have confirmed that they successfully negotiated with FOM (read: Bernie) to have a place on the 2010 calendar. They have said:
"The race is important not only for Formula 1, but also for the teams, manufacturers and sponsors. I am also happy for the Canadian Grand Prix's many fans, because they are true F1 enthusiasts who appreciate the real value of the spectacle and the competition."
I'd like to be nice and eloquent about this, but there really is only one thing to be said: YES!
This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.
Bernie Ecclestone has been trying to keep the row between himself and the teams under wraps over the past few days, and with the diffuser row dominating headlines, that's been easy to do. However, it has emerged that a couple of the teams had even threatened not to get on the plane to Australia, until they were paid the money they were owed.
The argument stems from the fact that Bernie Ecclestone and his company collect all the royalties for the teams and then dish them out accordingly. FOTA issued a statement saying that Bernie owed them money for the past three years, 2006 to 2008. However, Ecclestone has been quick to dispel this story.
He said that another arm of his company - Formula One Administration (FOA) - had in fact paid everything up until the Concorde Agreement ran out in 2007. This agreement was signed by all the teams entering the sport and regulated a lot of the commercial agreements between Bernie and themselves.
However, all parties have been unable to agree on another Concorde Agreement, so FOA had to establish new contracts with each team individually. From the statement issued by Bernie:
FOA has made new contracts with various teams currently competing in the FIA Formula One World Championship on an individual basis, whereby the team has committed to participate in the Championship for an agreed period in return for which FOA has agreed to pay a share of an annual prize fund generated from and calculated with reference to its profits. Each of these teams has been paid its full prize fund entitlement to date.
Ecclestone says that the problem lies with some teams that have not yet made a contract with FOA, and who have even received payments based on royalties they may incur in the future. He says this should be goodwill enough, considering there is no solid contract between them.
Of course the teams disagree, and now that they have FOTA, they hope to use this organisation and unanimity to agree a new Concorde Agreement and sort the situation with Bernie. Unfortunately, Mr Ecclestone continues to assert that he has no dealings with FOTA, and only with the teams themselves, so this situation may not resolve itself for a long time yet.
In the January/February edition of The Paddock, there's a fascinating article about the 2008 FOM Global Broadcast Report. I've never heard of this before, didn't even know it existed, but it's a detailed look at the television coverage of Formula 1 around the world. As it turns out, there are some worthwhile statistics to take note of when comparing the 2008 season to the previous year, 2007.
Worldwide Domination
Perhaps domination is too strong a word, but the total global TV audience in 2008 was 600 million viewers, up 3 million. The rise doesn't seem all that impressive, especially considering there was an extra race on the calendar, and the addition of a night race must have attracted some new viewers. However, the season was broadcast in 188 countries, which has remained constant from '07, so the new eyeballs are on top of those fans already in tune with the sport.
The Top Two
China and Brazil both top the list for total viewers, with over 100 million each. Brazil fell slightly in 2008, whilst China's numbers rose. However, the percentage of Chinese TV-owning households who actually chose Formula 1 is only 9.9%. Apparently, F1 rates behind basketball and table tennis. 9.9% is very low, compared to the UK where it was 51.5% in 2008. Brazil had the joy of watching Massa fight for the championship, and clearly the season finale hosted at Interlagos was hugely popular, but the country seemed to be more interested in football over the entire year.
Driver Attraction
Formula 1 was always strong in Germany, but now Michael Schumacher has retired, the viewing figures have declined for the past two years. The country had the most airtime in 2008, with almost 1200 hours dedicated to F1, and they enjoyed five German drivers on the grid - including one very young, and hugely popular, first time winner. Still the figures continue to fall. Meanwhile, Hamilton had the desired effect in Britain, as there was a strong rise in viewers of 25% over the last five races of the season.
Honda Again
Surprisingly, Japan's viewership increased in 2008, despite the loss of Sato during the season. Now that Honda have pulled out of the sport, it will be interesting to see what happens in 2009. It seems unlikely to me that Nakajima can keep the countries hopes alive. Likewise, France have lost their race on the calendar, so their 2008 rise in viewers can hardly be sustained by Bourdais, can it?
Other Notes
Italy remains a constant and steady stream of viewers, thanks to Ferrari (not Trulli, or Fisichella).
Poland became the ninth biggest country for viewers, after Kubica's Canadian win.
Spain's numbers fell, which is bound to be due to Alonso's lack of form, although I'm surprised Singapore didn't help. What will this mean for the two Spanish races, I wonder?
India also saw a drop in viewers, with just 10% of the population tuning in to Formula 1, despite Force India's campaigning.
We have always suspected a successful driver will make F1 more popular in his home country, and the numbers back it up. This brings up another couple of questions. Would Bernie look at the stars of the future and tailor the sport to them? Do the numbers above have any bearing on his business making decisions?
This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.
Formula 1 is a very photogenic sport, with teams and sponsors wanting their cars to be captured and displayed as often as possible. There are a few good places to check out the latest photographs from the F1 world, and I'm here to share them with you.
F1.com Gallery The Official F1 Website has galleries from many events, including the races, launches, PR gatherings, and tests. The pictures aren't always of a high quality, particularly of on-track action, but they capture the moments very well. Some of them are screen captures of moments you might have missed whilst watching the race live or on TV. Definitely worth a look.
Autosport - The Photo Gallery Autosport.com has an extensive collection of photographs from every conceivable event, across all forms of motorsport. F1 features heavily, and there are captures from recent launches, and races, but they really shine during the tests. There are many high quality, beautiful photographs from the tests, which are really useful to look at when we have no coverage elsewhere.
LAT Photo LAT are a well known name in F1 photography, and as their website says, they are: "The largest motoring and motor sport collection in the world." Most of the photos featured on Autosports gallery are from LAT, but it's a great place to go directly if you want to see more.
Flickr Search = formula 1 Flickr is a great place to look at uploaded photographs from fans. The above link leads directly to a search for the tag "formula 1" which will bring up all relevant photos with the most recent first. Of course the quality of the pictures will vary, and they may not be relevant at all, but it's always nice browsing if you're not looking for anything in particular.
This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.
Sir Jackie Stewart has never been one to hold back when he feels there is something wrong in the world of Formula 1. The former World Champion campaigned to bring about a lot of the safety issues that we take for granted today, and was honoured for doing so. He garners a lot of respect within the paddock, and knows F1 inside out.
That's why his interview with the Times newspaper is such big news. Stewart hits out at both Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley and says the way the sport is run cannot last for much longer.
Stewart believes that Ecclestone has a dictatorship within the sport, and that there is no succession plan for when he leaves the job. He and his companies take money from the teams to enter the sport, from the circuits to be on the calendar, and from TV companies to broadcast coverage, and only hands out a small amount back. One of Sir Jackie's main complaints is that the teams have all the capital overheads but see very little return for their money. As a team owner for a short time, Stewart knows what he's talking about.
On the subject of Max Mosley, Stewart has already been very vocal. The pair had a slanging match in 2007 that saw lawyers getting involved. Stewart believes the FIA President should leave his post and be replaced by someone who is not from within motorsport and who can rule with a new and fresh way of thinking.
As yet, there has been no response from either Ecclestone or Mosley, or a spokesperson on their behalf. It may be that they never respond, and most likely they will dismiss Stewart's claims as the ramblings of someone who is already outside the sport.
However, one of Sir Jackie's quotes really sums up the problems Formula 1 could be facing if it carries on the way it is:
"It has taken too long to achieve the things it should have achieved years ago and that other sports have long ago matured to, and other sports have prepared themselves more fully for the opportunities that have come their way."
For what is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport, it's starting to sound pretty antiquated. I await a response to Stewart's quotes with interest.
This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.
Formula1.com Season Highlights After each race, the official F1 website releases a short video - 5 minutes or so - with the best bits of the action compiled into a packed watch. They are really well edited and the music over the top has clearly been picked to have the best effect. The season finale one is both brilliant and heartbreaking. Each video has provided a nice reminder of the races throughout the year, but now the season is over, it's nice to look back and remember the highs and lows of such a frenetic year.
ITV F1 Videos ITV have provided the F1 coverage for the UK (and a lot of other syndicated countries) for over a decade, but have now lost the rights to the BBC for 2009. Nevertheless, ITV say their site will remain active, and they have so far kept up to date with the news. They've also kept their video section current as well. Throughout the season, highlights of each weekend were available, but now it looks like they have been replaced with feature videos instead. There are some interviews, and footage from the 2008 launches (presumably we'll see some 2009 launches when they start in January), plus Martin Brundle's F1 Insight series which was shown on the TV coverage.
Yahoo and Eurosport F1 This page is packed with news and features, but down the right hand side, there are Formula 1 videos to be enjoyed. There are some features here that aren't available on the other sites, like The Factory. That show is shown on Eurosport, and is a behind the scenes documentary on Williams. It's split up into several parts on the Yahoo site, but it's all available to watch for free. There are also short interviews and news updates available as well.
Of course, you can always put a search into YouTube to try and find what you are looking for. However, FOM are very aware of their content on YouTube and will quite often pull it down before you get a chance to see it. The older stuff, pre-1970s is available in all it's glory, but some of the newer stuff is harder to find.
