An all-round view of F1

If you're a fan of F1 then you'll almost certainly have spotted the name and branding of TATA Communications strategically-located in and around the circuits.

As well as being a technical partner of the all-conquering Mercedes team the telecommunications arm of the vast Indian conglomerate is also - and I'll quote this verbatim given the degree to which Formula1 and its various corporate acolytes like to exercise control over these things - the 'Official Connectivity Provider' in addition to being the "Official Web Hosting And Content Delivery Network Provider Of Formula1.com".

So there.

Anyway, being pretty cutting-edge, the clever boys and girls at TATA have been working with their counterparts at Formula 1 on enhancing the 'show' for the viewer and their latest wheeze has seen them experimenting with 360 degree live video feeds from a race - specifically the recent high-value stock-car smashup that was the Singapore Grand Prix - good timing..

Now, whilst 360 degree video is a relatively new technology it has been available in a number of forms for a few years now - most recognisably in videos available on Youtube where the viewer can pan and tilt the camera either in their browser or Youtube app or alternatively by donning one of the ever-increasing number of virtual-reality headsets whose complexity ranges from a cardboard affair into which one slips their smartphone, right up to the high-end, high-definition devices which imbue the wearer with a sense that he or she has just stepped off the set of the latest Star Wars epic..

Either way, the technology is starting to mature and this hasn't gone unnoticed by - amongst others - the aforementioned  Formula 1/TATA partnership & whilst other sporting events have dallied with this emerging applied science, their output has been limited - for technical reasons - to a delayed feed, (typically by 30 seconds) which isn't really ideal if you're wanting to convey an immersive, live atmosphere to those who weren't able to make it to the event being relayed.

So, the boffins at TATA got their collective thinking caps on and managed through some form of electronic witchcraft to live stream the recent carbon fibre-strewn proceedings in real time through a pair of 360 degree cameras; one being located in the paddock and the other trackside, so, conceivably you could have followed the fractious relationship between Sebastian Vettel and his team mate from 'racing incident' to recriminations and huffiness back at the team motorhome..

At the moment, this experiment in all-round visuals is being treated very much as a proof of concept and we're probably a few years away from being able to take control of the camera angles from the comfort of our own sofas, but rest-assured - this is a technology which will come into its own within the next decade as the infrastructure and demand for it become ever more pervasive. As mentioned above, Formula 1 is keen to improve the spectacle of the events it stages, not least in the face of increasingly lower audience share and it will undoubtedly see this toe-in-the-water-exercise as a step towards offering the service - perhaps as an additional cost package - in the not-too-distant future.

In this era of video on demand and timeshift recording capability, the consumer is becoming ever more used to deciding what he and she..consumes..and for the die-hard F1 fan, the ability to be able to call the shots is one which I feel will be pretty attractive.

Even with the drop off in viewing figures in recent years, subscription viewing numbers remain fairly healthy and if a value-added service such as TATA and F1 have just trialled is rolled out for a relatively cost-effective fee I wouldn't be willing to bet against it becoming a popular option for those who want a bit more from their F1 involvement.

Watch this (3D) space I guess..

Dave Wakefield

"Was it Bill or was it Ben?" - F1's Singapore scrap

OK, so you have to be my age to understand the title reference, but Sunday's three-way tie for the Singaporean scrapyard will run on for the rest of the season and may well be the championship decider.

Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

So who was to blame?

Given that the total bill for two scrapped Ferraris, and a scrapped Red Bull, is circa £10 million, if they were insured it would certainly NOT be regarded as a no fault accident!

Well, there seem to be several schools of thought...

• Was it a pure racing accident with no blame to attach?
• Did Kimi's rocket start cause it?
• Did Max's reluctance to be squeezed out and his failure to brake when squeezed make it inevitable?
• Did Seb's swerve to his left lead to the smash?

Actually, after several viewings it's probably (at least partially) 'yes' to all of the above! So, it's a racing accident...

BUT, that is not the first time a rather reckless swerve by Seb to protect a position has caused an accident.

There are parties in, or recently exiting, the pit lane who will suggest that perhaps Sebastian Vettel, a worthy four-time champion, has a little of the darker more ruthless elements of Michael Schumacher about him at times.

So, no penalty then for any of the drivers, but all three were called in to the stewards, and hopefully all were given a real warning about driving standards.

They all know accidents are many times more survivable in the latest F1 cars. A decade ago that accident could easily have led to two or even three deaths or life changing injuries.

Let's hope all three learn from Sunday's shambles.

Graham Benge

Sebastian Vettel and the ambulance driving challenge

Taking to the track after the British Grand Prix, Vettel joined a UK paramedic, Alex Knapton, at the Bruntingthorpe race track near Silverstone. Swapping their vehicles for the challenge, the iconic red of Ferrari for the flashing blue lights of a UK ambulance, Vettel was tasked with sharing high performance driving tips in his Ferrari 488 GTB with a 3.9-litre turbocharged V-8 engine and top speed of over 200 mph, before joining Alex on a lap of the track in his three tonne ambulance grabbing maximum performance from the vehicle and a modest 88 mph.

The day finished with a head to head challenge… Vettel in the ambulance against Knapton in the 488 GTB….

Of the experience, Alex Knapton, a Paramedic from South Central Ambulance Service, said:

“Getting the opportunity to swap the ambulance for the Ferrari 488 GTB was a dream come true! It was an unbelievable experience to get that close to one of the stars of Formula 1. Sebastian was on great form coaching on high performance driving tips and joking about the lack of a radio in the ambulance.”

Friday F1 Fun!

Someone at Formula1sBlog has kindly put together a selection of the funny and daft things that F1 drivers are required to do for their sponsors…

And where would we be on a Friday afternoon without them!!

Vettel booed on podium

What is F1 coming to when Vettel is booed by part of the audience as he takes the win in Singapore?

Yes, he dominated the race. Yes, he is likely to take the championship with 3 or 4 races to go, but this is hardly the first time a team and driver have dominated the championship.

It may not be Bernie's ideal scenario but McLaren won 15 out of 16 in the 80's and Jim Clark won 7 out of 8 for his first championship in 63…

There are other examples where a genius driver, genius team boss and genius designer have dominated F1.

None of this justifies undeserved booing… It is for the others to catch up, or do Mercedes, Fiat et al lack the resources to do so?

Graham Benge

Sebastian Vettel too fast for us!

Even when driving the Infiniti FX special edition "Sebastian Vettel", the F1 World Champion is keeping the speed up!