F1 News

Helmet cam fun for fans, risk for teams: 'That's really not nice'

Helmet cam fun for fans, risk for teams: 'That's really not nice'

12-09-2021 11:21 Last update: 12:03
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GPblog.com

Since the Belgian Grand Prix, Formula 1 is testing the helmet cam to let the fans experience even more what it is like to be an F1 driver. At Spa, we watched Fernando Alonso driving and this weekend it was George Russell's turn to drive with the helmet cam. This concept has been used in Formula E for some time now, but there the dashboard is also made unreadable.

They do that to hide sensitive information, but in F1 they are not that far yet. On the images of Russell and Alonso, it was easy to read what was on the dashboard. Head of performance at Williams, Dave Robson, explains to Autosport it's not ideal that everyone can see what's on the dashboard."It's not nice, from our point of view, but if people find it interesting and entertaining then that's just part of the sport too."

Protecting sensitive information

In the sprint race, we were able to watch Russell at the start and during an overtaking manoeuvre on Nikita Mazepin. That wasn't actually the intention, reveals Robson."We had a discussion a couple of days ago because we only wanted the camera for the free practice sessions and then remove it for the races. But we will probably see it again on the footage during the race," as the Williams Briton will also drive with the camera during the Grand Prix.

"Obviously, Formula 1 wants very much to have that camera in a competitive session. The installation of the camera went without a hitch and also doesn't give us any disadvantage. It's purely about what you can see on the dash. We have nothing specific to hide on our dash". The Williams dash is a special one as they are the only team to have their dash still attached to the car where others have it mounted on the steering wheel.