New F1 TV Graphics
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Hi all, I thought I’d see what people make of the new style TV graphics that have been unveiled over past few days? Here are my thoughts:
Good:
I like the new sector times and colours which are now displayed under the lap-time – adds a new dimension and gives more information which is always good.
I like the new circuit information which is shown before the session, metrics such as track surface abrasiveness, downforce levels etc are interesting and useful.
Bad:
I don’t like the “driver in danger” bit during qualifying, seems a bit over the top to me, it’s pretty obvious who is at risk of dropping into the drop zone.
I don’t like the new graphic they’re using for tyre compound – the letter seems to be the same for each compound with only the colour surrounding it denoting the compound in use. For those of us with colour vision issues it’s sometimes hard to tell the colours apart.
Not sure what having the team logo next to each driver’s name on the timing graphic brings, other than marketing, which is maybe the point!
Unsure:
The focus on gap rather than overall lap-time is interesting and will probably grow on me but at the moment I’m not sure. Maybe this is focus is only going to be used in qualifying and will revert to a focus on lap-time during the race – tomorrow will tell.
It all feels, for want of a better word, “Americanised”. On one hand this isn’t a surprise given the new owners, but does feel a bit jarring after the more restrained language and graphics used last year.
In conclusion:
I appreciate Liberty’s desire to bring change, and change always takes time to get used to, but there seems more bad than good to me, and I’d love to get some more views on this!
Cheers,
Phil
At first I was sceptical but over a couple of sessions (particularly qualifying I must say) they really grew on me. In particular having graphics which sometimes showed the driver’s face, flag, team logo, and number, to make them a bit more than just three letter abbreviations.
I disagree with you in that I like the “driver in danger” aspect; yes maybe it’s a slight gimmick but it’s a little like who’s in the bump zone in Indy 500 qualifying.
It’s been said elsewhere but I don’t like the font and it’s just too small in places. There was a fact at the start of coverage saying only “x” drivers have won from pole in the last 8 years… I have no idea what that number is because on my (admittedly non-HD TV) it was just a blob!
I even liked the intro graphics and music, but am a bit disappointed they’ve got rid of the world map showing locations of all of the races as that emphasised it’s really a world championship.
Overall I’m actually surprised the changes haven’t been more revolutionary – that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but seeing some of the things that Formula E does (e.g. the flashing screen when there’s a yellow flag or safety car) show that they could have been more adventurous if they wanted to be.
Personally, the worst aspect is the new font but specifically any words in red. They appear so blurred so as to be illegible. Initially, I thought it was a small screen problem given that I watched qualifying on my phone but the race on TV confirmed how bad it is.
I have the same complaints as others:
– Font is terrible and too small;
– A lot of waste with showing things like team icons next to driver names several times and nothing else, “driver in danger” box, driver pictures and nationality;
– Tyre graphics seems to have been removed completely except for that panel at the start of the official transmission. I’m sure we’d all like to reduce the importance of tyres in the race but until that happens I’d like to know which driver is running which tyres so I can judge their performance and figure out their strategy;
– Other data were apparently removed like number of pit stops each driver has made. Last year they would spend too long showing that so reducing the amount of time spent on that is nice, but remove completely;
– Pit stop times were not shown as well (as far as I can tell). Why would this vital piece of information be removed?
– Never ending song at the beginning of the official transmission. Although it’s completely generic, I could live with it playing during the opening, but over 3 minutes of that is unbearable.I’m sure there are more but that’s what I remember off the top of my head.
There are a few good things like “battle for position” box and sector time colours in quali — although I remember last year we had one race (either Australia or Bahrain) with the same time colours but it was much more detailed being divided into subsectors(?) rather than sectors.
Haven’t actually watched a race with the new graphics, but they don’t sound very well. Have they got rid of the time difference between drivers that’s shown beside the name?
A saw a lot of complaints about the lack of live timing information on-screen during the race.
Does it matter as long as it’s still available on the F1 website? Surely the kind of fans who want it will be following it there anyway?
There is a live timing on the f1 website along with other useful stuff, but now you have to pay to access it (before live timing and commentary were free).
Lack of timing information on TV is a huge problem. And tyre data, just as bad.
And I suspect all kinds of fans want it – from super-hardcore fans like me (I don’t look at a website during an F1 race, I look at the TV) all the way to the first-race casuals (who don’t even know the F1 website has the timing info). It being on the website/an app is irrelevant in my eyes, when there’s plenty of space for it on the most convenient and sensible place – the TV screen.
My tinfoil side suspects they’re trying the old Bernie trick of holding it back from the TV broadcasts to try to push people into buying the app. Seem to recall they tried it a few seasons ago when F1 Access was launched, didn’t get a good response…
Usually I watch the race live with the timings of the free version of the F1 app on my tablet.
When it’s a replay however timings are not available and it miss dearly. It was already the case last year but even more annoying this year.I remember the sub-sector timings that were used for a short period too. I really liked them but for whatever reason they chose to remove them. Thanks for all the replies – looks like there are a number of views (to be expected!) Even though some of the changes that they’ve made don’t appeal to me, I like change and am excited to see what else Liberty have got in store!
I think timings are pretty essential for any viewer so we could do with more although I didn’t notice a massive lack of information to be honest. Having multiple screens is awkward and tends to take away from the race.
On a side note it’s strange that the car outline graphics don’t have a halo on them.
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