BBC enhances graphic coverage for F1

GPS Driver Mapping

The BBC is going a step deeper in its live online coverage of F1 with a new animation called a Driver Tracker, to supplement what is available on TV.

This weekend at the British Grand Prix, they are trialing the animation, which will be selectable in the video section at the top of the F1 live page.

It is similar in concept to the 3D track graphic on the Soft Pauer Iphone app, which came out last year. It is supplied by FOM from real timing data at the circuit.

You can track the position of the cars around the circuit, so you don’t have to wait for the world feed to catch up after pit stops, for example, to see whether Rosberg jumped Massa at the stops. You will see it in real time as it happens.

I think it’s a great idea. It works very well on the IPhone and IPad apps and it’s an indispensable compliment to the TV coverage, if you really want to understand what is going on.

The driver tracker option features a top-down circuit map, on which the drivers are identified by colour-coded shapes bearing their standard FOM three-letter abbreviation (ALO, for Fernando Alonso; HAM, for Lewis Hamilton; BUT for Jenson Button etc). These identifiers move around the track as the cars do, allowing viewers to track the progress of the drivers and the visual gaps between them.

After a recent update to its live page, the BBC believes that at least 80% of users are now getting the high-quality video at all times.

BBC is making the Driver Tracker available for this weekend’s British Grand Prix as a trial, with a view to introducing it for the rest of the season.