2022 - Race 2 Saudi Arabia

[N. Jones]

Why are you so hung up on the potential of it being bad when what we got yesterday was exciting. It just didn't work out for LeClerc yesterday. One more lap and he probably would have gotten him back.
This year was very different from last year. Max has matured a little since then and racing between the two was entertaining. For as long as DRS has been around folks have been complaining, and yet...it has produced fantastic races and finishes.

Well...I wonder if Max has more respect for Charles than he does Lewis.

[airshifter]

As for DRS, I think the problem at certain tracks is the multiple zones, as well as drivers using racecraft more and more to avoid crossing the line first. Though I don't really have a big issue with retaining DRS if needed, it shouldn't result in both cars getting on the brakes to avoid being first over the DRS detection line. If other cars are in the area, it could cause a collision, or possibly slow down lapped cars trying to stay out of the way.

They could either change the rules to avoid any games and safety hazard possibilities, or just adjust the length of zones/detection points/etc to more closely match the newer cars.

But it wouldn't break my heart at all if we could just get rid of it, or allow it 100% of the time with no zones involved.



A couple other notes I forgot after the race....


Visor Cam - it absolutely sucks! Get rid of it now! I would rather watch any other onboard shot they have over this crappy view that catches all the crazy light diffraction through the visor. Surely they can do better. The last version helmet cam wasn't much better really, but it wasn't this terrible.


Leclerc and the Ferrari rear light issue - It was brought up when noticed and mentioned by Max during the race. It's in the regs as required, but there is really no precedent that I know of for penalty if they don't work. These lights signal both harvesting modes and potential issues, and both are potentially both caution indications or weakness indications for following drivers. If a driver is harvesting they don't have 100% power available, and if the system is screwed up potentially a major car problem and/or deceleration.

Not that I think any major penalty should apply if it was simply a real problem, but if there is no penalty ever I can seem the teams playing games as it might give them a slight edge in never letting the following drivers know when they are harvesting.

[Bagwan]

As for DRS, I think the problem at certain tracks is the multiple zones, as well as drivers using racecraft more and more to avoid crossing the line first. Though I don't really have a big issue with retaining DRS if needed, it shouldn't result in both cars getting on the brakes to avoid being first over the DRS detection line. If other cars are in the area, it could cause a collision, or possibly slow down lapped cars trying to stay out of the way.

They could either change the rules to avoid any games and safety hazard possibilities, or just adjust the length of zones/detection points/etc to more closely match the newer cars.

But it wouldn't break my heart at all if we could just get rid of it, or allow it 100% of the time with no zones involved.



A couple other notes I forgot after the race....


Visor Cam - it absolutely sucks! Get rid of it now! I would rather watch any other onboard shot they have over this crappy view that catches all the crazy light diffraction through the visor. Surely they can do better. The last version helmet cam wasn't much better really, but it wasn't this terrible.


Leclerc and the Ferrari rear light issue - It was brought up when noticed and mentioned by Max during the race. It's in the regs as required, but there is really no precedent that I know of for penalty if they don't work. These lights signal both harvesting modes and potential issues, and both are potentially both caution indications or weakness indications for following drivers. If a driver is harvesting they don't have 100% power available, and if the system is screwed up potentially a major car problem and/or deceleration.

Not that I think any major penalty should apply if it was simply a real problem, but if there is no penalty ever I can seem the teams playing games as it might give them a slight edge in never letting the following drivers know when they are harvesting.

DRS has become dangerous , so should go , but perhaps your idea of allowing it all the time could be a good stop-gap until it could be designed out .
As they have used "moveable aerodynamic device" to disallow many items on cars , I have never understood the stupid behind mandating one .

I completely agree on that visor-cam .
I wonder about a camera on each side of the helmet to give a stereo view for those with virtual headsets , not that I have one , but it could be cool .

As for the rear lights , it really comes down to the safety issues involved .
Worst scenario would be rain and no lights , and I don't think they should hesitate to call someone in and retire them if those lights don't work when that rain starts .
If the de-rate lights don't work , they won't likely work for other uses , and the car should be fixed or retired .

It needs to be as simple as that , as otherwise you get them playing games with safety .

[Whyzars]

...
Visor Cam - it absolutely sucks! Get rid of it now! I would rather watch any other onboard shot they have over this crappy view that catches all the crazy light diffraction through the visor. Surely they can do better. The last version helmet cam wasn't much better really, but it wasn't this terrible.

I agree it is nasty.

I watched a 40sec vid that Ricciardo did in Bahrain that didn't suck. The vision was centred and not polarised and was very watchable.

It was in practice and it was in daylight but the most noticeable thing was the centred camera position. I have not seen the same since.

The psychadelic visor view from the drivers ear is just annoying.

[The Black Knight]

I agree it is nasty.

I watched a 40sec vid that Ricciardo did in Bahrain that didn't suck. The vision was centred and not polarised and was very watchable.

It was in practice and it was in daylight but the most noticeable thing was the centred camera position. I have not seen the same since.

The psychadelic visor view from the drivers ear is just annoying.

I love the helmet cam but I agree having it in the center would be a better view. I especially loved the cam of Charles LeClerc which showed him on a hot lap over the weekend- it really showed the forces and speed with which a driver must react in order to complete a good lap. No view is ever perfect and there's little can do about the lights but I really thought it was awesome in Jeddah.

[airshifter]

I love the helmet cam but I agree having it in the center would be a better view. I especially loved the cam of Charles LeClerc which showed him on a hot lap over the weekend- it really showed the forces and speed with which a driver must react in order to complete a good lap. No view is ever perfect and there's little can do about the lights but I really thought it was awesome in Jeddah.

I wouldn't mind it so much if they just mounted it externally, preferably in the middle. But the glare they get through the visors is just too distracting IMHO. I've never seen that much glare through a visor at night and I'm sure the camera quality is a good part of it.

[Steve Boyd]

I wouldn't mind it so much if they just mounted it externally, preferably in the middle. But the glare they get through the visors is just too distracting IMHO. I've never seen that much glare through a visor at night and I'm sure the camera quality is a good part of it.

I don't think it's the quality of the camera or the lens. It's where it's mounted. Your eyes are looking through the visor near the middle so the visor is almost square on to your line of sight. If you tuck a camera into the side of the helmet it's looking through the visor at a very shallow angle. Any transparent surface will have some relection off its surface and the shallower the angle the more reflection. In the centre, square on, you don't see the reflection and a camera won't see it either, but at the side with the much shallower angle the reflections will be much brighter. At night when the ambient light level is low, the reflections of bright points of light (like the stadium and road lighting) will show up brighter than the background. Hopefully, when we get to daylight races the reflections won't be as noticeable.