Chinese GP ...

[Calman]

F1 2018 so far isn't all that bad and the Halo has become invisible.

Yes, I suppose you could say 2018 has been "not bad" so far.   Melbourne was uneventful, Bahrain delivered in a certain light and the safety car ignited the Chinese GP.  At least we have had wheel to wheel, some first class overtakes and some battles through the put stop strategies.

The one thing I can't agree on, is those "invisible Halos" ... I sit a fair distance from my TV and it still feels like someone has put Chopper Handlebars on the top of the screen!!!! 

All the best,
Cal

[guest3164]

I think I just have a high tolerance threshold for ugly things on F1 cars 

[Alianora La Canta]

So far, we've had the full gamut of possible F1 races: one dull, one interesting and one that will probably be regarded as a classic by future historians.

Halo is definitely visible. Aside from my feelings about it, I had to explain to Mum during the race that it wasn't there just to annoy people (as she couldn't figure out why it was there...). She now cannot identify any driver (thanks to the graphics being a step down from last year).

[lkjohnson1950]

According to Charlie there shouldn't be any problem. Each driver within a team has a different color camera, and there are those large and highly visible numbers. 

[guest3164]

F1 clearly needs more obvious driver identification but that is a long term problem, the Halo just seems to highlight the urgency of sorting it.  I just refer to the fact that I barely notice it in comparison to the racing whereas I thought it would stick out like a sore thumb.

[Alianora La Canta]

According to Charlie there shouldn't be any problem. Each driver within a team has a different color camera, and there are those large and highly visible numbers. 

Mum can't see the numbers and has never figured out the camera colour system of identifying drivers. (For that matter, I have trouble with the camera colour system because since the move to numbers, I have trouble remembering who has the higher "number" in a team to have a particular colour in the first place). Numbers work in MotoGP, but with a few exceptions, I find they don't work for me in F1... ...or sportscars, for that matter. (Which is a problem since that's pretty much the only way sportscars get distinguished from one another within teams, and I support a team that has been known to put 10 cars into the same race!)

[cosworth151]

Maybe something like this, from the 1967 F1 season. See if you can identify the drivers of these four cars:

[guest3164]

Something so simple as that would never work. 

[Scott]

Ok seriously, how often is anyone on here actually confused about which driver is which in a team?  You have other references, including which car was last in front or behind the one in question.  You have the camera colours should you want to memorize which is which.  You have numbers on the cars should you want to memorize them.  Then there is the driver order, 90% of the time on the screen, often highlighting some data about the car on the screen.  And honestly, on the panning shots I generally get relatively good views of the helmet through the side and can usually distinguish one from the other.

Really, the halos have become a non issue for me - especially when regarding driver identification.  Ugly?  Yes.  Practical?  Yes.  Disruptive of my enjoyment?  No.

[guest3164]

I have to confess that I do not find it that tricky to follow drivers myself but I can understand other people might do. 

The only thing I have difficulty differentiating between right now is the Williams and the Sauber.  Baffling to create a new livery that is so similar to an existing one. 

[cosworth151]

One trick used in GT racing is painting the mirrors different colors to differentiate the different cars within a team. That might help.

[Scott]

One trick used in GT racing is painting the mirrors different colors to differentiate the different cars within a team. That might help.

Why not do the mirrors like the drivers helmet?  Or nationality flag?

[Calman]

McLaren had the right idea, back in the days of the Tobacco thingamajig ...



All the best,
Cal

[Alianora La Canta]

Ok seriously, how often is anyone on here actually confused about which driver is which in a team?  You have other references, including which car was last in front or behind the one in question.  You have the camera colours should you want to memorize which is which.  You have numbers on the cars should you want to memorize them.  Then there is the driver order, 90% of the time on the screen, often highlighting some data about the car on the screen.  And honestly, on the panning shots I generally get relatively good views of the helmet through the side and can usually distinguish one from the other.

Really, the halos have become a non issue for me - especially when regarding driver identification.  Ugly?  Yes.  Practical?  Yes.  Disruptive of my enjoyment?  No.

I can manage it, though a lot of those "other references" have also been obscured over the last few years.

For Mum (and to a lesser extent, Dad) on the other hand:

- no strong association between most of the drivers and their assigned numbers (Mum can reliably ID the Force India drivers from their numbers because I've explained it several times, but apart from that, can only use it for Hamilton and whoever is world champion - if anyone is actually using #1, which frequently doesn't happen. Even I don't recall some of the number associations e.g. between the Toro Rosso drivers without a guide, and I've deliberately been trying to learn them for 4 years).

- The camera shots often don't depict the race number or camera colour flash very well, and in any case depend on remembering who in a team has a higher number (see previous entry for why this is a problem)

- Halo obscures the helmets, which in any case have become increasingly stylised and similar to one another (and panning shots don't help for anyone in my household)

- The new font for the graphics means that Dad and I struggle to read the leaderboard and Mum cannot do so at all. This is despite a 32" HD TV (the biggest that will physically fit in the living room) - and no, none of us is classified as visually impaired (in fact, Mum doesn't even need glasses for the TV - for any other programme).

- Starts involve more position changes than in the last few years (it's more akin to the 1990s and early 2000s now), so using grid position is of limited assistance

- The commentators often aren't talking about the thing on the screen or what Mum might be interested in.

It has reached the point where Mum has trouble following the race because she has to get me or Dad to translate what is going on for her. Contrast Formula E, where she quite happily tells us what is going on because it's made easy there...

[Jericoke]

Ok seriously, how often is anyone on here actually confused about which driver is which in a team?  You have other references, including which car was last in front or behind the one in question.  You have the camera colours should you want to memorize which is which.  You have numbers on the cars should you want to memorize them.  Then there is the driver order, 90% of the time on the screen, often highlighting some data about the car on the screen.  And honestly, on the panning shots I generally get relatively good views of the helmet through the side and can usually distinguish one from the other.

Really, the halos have become a non issue for me - especially when regarding driver identification.  Ugly?  Yes.  Practical?  Yes.  Disruptive of my enjoyment?  No.

The announcers on Sky are getting the drivers consistently wrong, and it is their job to tell us who we're looking at.  If the professionals can't get it right.

Further, on the opening lap, as cars pass each other in long shots, I'm not looking at the timing, nor are the numbers visible (I was not aware of the camera colour coding, I will look for that in the future).  I just see some red, blue and silver cars chopping across the track and running three abreast, and I'm not entirely sure who is who.

Similarly, if a car is shown in a gravel trap, there is no context to use from timing.  We're dependent on the number being visible in the shot (again, I'll make the effort to spot the cameras)