Has FIA cocked up? Will F1 drivers have proper sight of track this season?

[John S]

With comments coming from assorted drivers about new 18 inch rims causing 'wheely' big issues, with loss of sight lines to track, are we in for a Crash Fest this term?

Lance Stroll: -
“Visibility is kind of a bitch with this tyre, you can’t see much,” Lance Stroll said, as quoted by Motor Sport Magazine.
“So I expect it to be pretty tough to see where you’re going. That’s going to be very different – visually – from inside the cockpit.
“It’s a good thing I’m in my sixth season, and I’ve memorised a lot of the tracks because if this was my first season, man, it wouldn’t be easy!”

Max Verstappen: -
He’s not the only one struggling to see. Reigning champion Max Verstappen might end up having a hard time defending his title if he can’t spot his braking points.
“For me actually, the biggest thing is just the view in the cockpit with these big tyres. To hit an apex in some tight corners is a bit more difficult,” Max noted.

Lando Norris: -
Other street circuits, such as Singapore or Monaco, might be “extremely different” according to Lando Norris, who told RaceFans that the FIA are having to come up with innovative solutions as the tracks can’t really be altered.
“One of my friends who’s in F2 said that they have to put cones on top of the barriers in places because the barriers were lower than the new tyres that we have, and that they can’t actually see where the barrier is, because the car looks higher than the barriers,” Lando added.

Driver quotes courtesy wtf1.com.

[Jericoke]

My family hauler car can tell me if I'm going to back into something, if there's a car in my blind spot, if I'm departing my lane.

If F1 wants 'road relevant' technology, why not implement some of these features?

[cosworth151]

With all of the advanced simulator tech available today, why didn't somebody notice this before now.

I can't wait to hear some race engineer to put out a call to run down to the local IHOP and get a kiddie booster seat so that their driver can see the barriers.

[Alianora La Canta]

My family hauler car can tell me if I'm going to back into something, if there's a car in my blind spot, if I'm departing my lane.

If F1 wants 'road relevant' technology, why not implement some of these features?

The audio channel is already occupied with gear shift indicators (be that the traditional "listen for the engine note" or a digital beep), radio and picking up the tyre traction state (hearing complements feeling)). Not much room left for collision detection. Visual is even more overloaded. I suppose there's room for a haptic sensor for that sort of thing, though I suspect initial reaction won't be positive either...

[lkjohnson1950]

Is their line of sight worse than WEC prototypes?

[Jericoke]

My family hauler car can tell me if I'm going to back into something, if there's a car in my blind spot, if I'm departing my lane.

If F1 wants 'road relevant' technology, why not implement some of these features?

The audio channel is already occupied with gear shift indicators (be that the traditional "listen for the engine note" or a digital beep), radio and picking up the tyre traction state (hearing complements feeling)). Not much room left for collision detection. Visual is even more overloaded. I suppose there's room for a haptic sensor for that sort of thing, though I suspect initial reaction won't be positive either...

The wing mirror on my car lights up orange if the blind spot is occupied.  Since F1 drivers (should) check their mirror before moving over, they would see that without creating further 'input'.

For the lane departure, I have the option of haptic feedback, or the car actually correcting itself.  I don't know that I'd want to see F1 cars with automated accident avoidance but...

• It is very road relevant technology
• With proper algorithms in place, the cars would know whether a passing/defending move is 'legal' or not, and automatically avoid a crash
• In a salary capped era, a lot fewer crashes would be a tremendous savings to the sport
• With the automation in place, it would be a new skill for drivers to put their car into a place where they can force opponents' cars to back off for safety.  The 'chicken' game would still exist as it does now, but with the possibility of happening again and again, instead of one car ending up in a wall/gravel trap/drive through penalty

[Willy]

I don't agree with any more driver aids such as blind-spot sensors or a vibrating steering wheel.
In a road vehicle, these can be a help for the less aware drivers (mostly helping the rest of us while having to navigate around these idiots).
F1 employs the best drivers in the world, supposedly, so they should know where their vehicle is in relation to the track and other vehicles around them.
The engineer's jobs are to make cars able to go damn fast and win races but they sometimes need to step back a bit and not add more crap when they already have the best sensor available...the driver.
I can see it will take a race or two for them all to get used to the larger tires but very soon it will be business as usual.