
Inside track: Uncovering the strategy behind Formula 1's new graphic Insights for the 2021 season By Heather McLean, Editor
Thursday, April 15, 2021 - 14:12
Print This Story
New F1 Insight Braking Performance displays and compares drivers' braking styles and performance by measuring how closely they approach the apex of a corner before braking
Formula 1 has announced the release of the first of six real-time racing statistics for the 2021 season.
The first F1 Insight to be introduced this season, Braking Performance, shows how a driver's braking style during a cornering manoeuvre can deliver an advantage coming out of the corner. It will be used as an on-screen graphic by broadcasters and on Formula 1's social media channels this weekend for the Italian Grand Prix in Imola.
Each of the new F1 Insights, which will be rolled out throughout the 2021 Formula 1 season, are designed to give fans the inside view on split-second decisions made on the track before, during, and after each race by providing the data and analysis fans need to interpret driver and team race strategy and performance.
If we can get the Gen Z'ers involved in Formula 1 by using data to tell those stories and give them insights and get them engaged in it, brilliant, then I'm all for it
The new additions have been created in partnership between Formula 1 and Amazon Web Services (AWS). They build on six released in 2020 and a previous six released since the start of the F1 and AWS partnership in 2018, making a total of 18 F1 Insights delivered by the end of November 2021.
All of the insights will be integrated into the races' international broadcast feeds around the globe, including F1's digital platform, F1TV, helping fans to understand the split-second decisions and race strategies made by drivers or teams that can dramatically affect a race outcome.
Library of broadcast graphics
The idea behind F1 Insights is to give Deane Locke, F1's director of broadcast and media, effectively a library of graphics that he can call upon for any event, says Rob Smedley, director of data systems at Formula 1, speaking with SVG Europe.
When there's an event [such as a crash or battle] coming up in the middle of a race that he wants to tell a story about, these offer a great way to be able to tell that story, through data, he notes. What we've always got to think about when we're using data is how do we use it responsibly, first of all; how we're using it to give insight.
Rob Smedley, director of data systems at Formula 1
He elaborates: Formula 1 races are incredible complex; if you imagine a football game, predominantly 85% of the action is always where the ball is. Formula 1 is very, very different because the director of the broadcast can only ever focus on one particular car pairing, or one particular battle, or one particular car.
The reality is because there can be 20 cars on the track, there can be 20 interactions, 20 battles or events going on all around the track or in the pits, Smedley continues. Really it's about teasing out that data to give the fans some insight as to what's going on in something that they are watching and to give them more information than just the metadata that they're taking in through the visuals, or to tell them something else which is emerging somewhere else. In some cases [it's saying] stay tuned because something really great is going to come up here and here's the data.
He adds: We can't predict the future; we're engineers and scientists, not magicians, but what we can do is say our simulations and algorithms we've developed with AWS [say] this is what we think is going to happen . That draws the fans in and gives [them] much more insight into what's really happening right around the circuit.
So many choices
More than 300 sensors on each race car generate over 1.1 million data points per second that F1 transmits from the cars to the pit and onto AWS for processing. F1 relies on the breadth and depth of AWS services to stream and analyse that flood of data as it is generated, and then present it in a meaningful way for TV and online viewers around the world through the F1 Insights.
Those six F1 Insights released last year were used across F1's racing broadcast for each of the races on the World Feed, as well as on its digital channels since 2020. Says Smedley: With AWS last year, what emerged was that the algorithms that we're building, the models that we're building are so complex [but] what usually gets onto the screen is a really simplified, elegant output. There's so many different ways we can use this output that we started to collaborate with not just the live broadcast element of Formula 1 but also the digital platforms as well [to tell] more deeper data stories as well.
That data is also being used on social media to attract different kinds of Formula 1 fans, outside of the hardcore regulars. Explains Smedley: Across the F1 AWS partnership, we're really cognisant of looking at how we can use all these data products to get these different fan groups involved in Formula 1. Younger fan groups might want to consume Formula 1 racing in five minutes, or 90 seconds or 60 seconds, across the various social media platforms. Data is a brilliant way of being able to do that; to condense stuff down into a format that is understandable, but condensed down into key moments of a two hour race. If we can get the Gen Z'ers involved in Formula 1 by using data to tell those stories and give them insights and get them engaged in it, brilliant, then I'm all for it.
More than 300 sensors on each race car generate over 1.1 million data points per second that F1 transmits from the cars to the pit and onto AWS for processing
Bucket of ideas
To create the new i
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
13/09/2025
ATLANTA Cox Media Group has announced that the company's vice president of news, Misty Turnbull has been inducted into the National Academy of Television Ar...
13/09/2025
AMSTERDAM Shotoku Broadcast Systems, a major developer of robotic systems, has announced plans to take studio robotics to the next level at IBC2025 by debuting ...
13/09/2025
At IBC2025 in Amsterdam, Riedel Communications unveiled Bolero Mini, the company's lightest and flattest wireless intercom beltpack to date. Designed to del...
13/09/2025
Shotoku Broadcast Systems, the international developer of dependable, userfriendly robotic systems, is taking studio robotics to the next level at IBC 2025 with...
13/09/2025
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming solutions, today released the 9th annual Video Developer Report 2025/26, offering an in-depth look at the evolvi...
13/09/2025
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with StreamShark, the trusted video platform for enterprise...
13/09/2025
Ikegami has chosen IBC 2025 in Amsterdam as the launch venue for a major addition to its range of viewfinders. The new VFE-P711AD is a 7-inch high resolution OL...
13/09/2025
Founder-led Merger to Fast Track R&D, Asset Library Upgrades, Tools and More; No Disruption to Pricing or Support for Users
Today, KitBash3D, a pioneer in 3D a...
13/09/2025
With NDI certification, Atomos integration, Grass Valley collaboration, and a new Monitor app, at this year's IBC, Mavis is showcasing a series of powerful...
13/09/2025
Creamsource, maker of artisan LED lighting for film and television, has unveiled the Vortex24 Soft (V24S), a 1950W native soft light and the largest soft source...
13/09/2025
When international sports streaming service DAZN secured the global rights to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup football tournament, it set out to deliver an unmatch...
13/09/2025
Riedel Communications today announced the acquisition of hi human interface from Broadcast Solutions, bringing a powerful, vendor-agnostic control system to it...
13/09/2025
Building on its long-term relationship with audio metering specialist RTW, Calrec has integrated the company's brand new TMxCore metering platform across it...
13/09/2025
Calrec is expanding its family of future-ready self-contained Argo M control surfaces at IBC2025, with the addition of a brand new powerful 48-fader console. Co...
13/09/2025
Researchers find brain region that fuels compulsive drinking Study by Scripps Research scientists shows how the brain learns to seek alcohol for relief, not jus...
12/09/2025
College Football Kickoff 2025: Fox Sports Ups Look as Canon, Sony Power Shallow ...
12/09/2025
ABC/ESPN Excited For WNBA Postseason Coverage In Revamped FormatThe Finals moves to a best-of-seven series in 2025By Mark J Burns, SVG Contributor
Friday, Sep...
12/09/2025
(L-R) Jade Croot, Rosy McEwen, and Bryn Chainey attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Rabbit Trap at Eccles Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park ...
12/09/2025
For fans, we know how important it is to stay plugged into music culture and dis...
12/09/2025
Link ping, Sweden and Shipley, United Kingdom, September 12, 2025 - Agama, the expert in video observability and analytics for service quality and customer expe...
12/09/2025
IBC2025 began on Sept. 12, with exhibits and conferences running through Sept. 15 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center. Explore the full TV Tech coverage of t...
12/09/2025
The Best Fictional Bands (and the Artists Who Make Them Great) With Spinal Tap II: The End Continues hitting theaters and songs from KPop Demon Hunters ruling...
12/09/2025
Industry veteran Tom Baldassare has joined Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, as a Se...
12/09/2025
Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects, and more, today announced a...
12/09/2025
PlayBox Neo, a leading provider of media playout solutions, has partnered with AI-Media, pioneering developers of AI-powered captioning technology, to integrate...
12/09/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
12/09/2025
New alliance strengthens the IT channel in Germany and Switzerland in protecting business-critical SaaS data.
Keepit, the world s only independent, cloud-nativ...
12/09/2025
Fincons Group, an international IT business consultancy and systems integrator company with more than 40 years of experience in the market, is proud to announce...
12/09/2025
Following its acquisition of Telemetrics, EVS continues its push into robotics with an announcement at IBC2025 that it is acquiring XD motion....
12/09/2025
TORONTO The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) has announced the appointment of Eduardo Ruiz Sanchez, deputy director, broadcast operations at Telev...
12/09/2025
Ed Miller, a longtime broadcast engineer in Ohio and a former national president of the Society of Broadcast Engineers, has died....
12/09/2025
AMSTERDAM At this year's IBC2025, the Advanced HDR by Technicolor initiative will be pushing broadcasters to adopt a more dynamic, frame-by-frame conversion...
12/09/2025
Feature-length retrospective from Studio Crook to air in 2026
Sir David Jason returns to the nation's favourite comedy channel, U&GOLD, for Open All Hours:...
12/09/2025
September 12th, 2025
Tribeca X and The Female Quotient to Host Powerhouse Em...
12/09/2025
Friday 12 September 2025
The Boomtown Rats, Nyah Grace, Soweto Kinch, Royal Ballet and Madness also announced to perform at the ceremony on Tuesday
Sky today ...
12/09/2025
Wuppertal September 12, 2025
Riedel Unveils Ultra-Light Bolero Mini Wireless Intercom BeltpackAt IBC2025 in Amsterdam, Riedel Communications unveiled Bolero M...
12/09/2025
Wuppertal September 12, 2025
Riedel Communications Acquires hi human interfaceRiedel Communications today announced the acquisition of hi human interface fro...
12/09/2025
Back to All News
New International Crime Series Road (WT)' Explores Twiste...
12/09/2025
Back to All News
First Look: Thai Crime Drama Everybody Loves Me When I'm ...
12/09/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Marks 10 Years in Japan, Announces Three New Series Th...
12/09/2025
CORE+ virtually removes distortion, setting a new standard for church sound and giving worship teams the clarity and confidence they need.
Read the full artic...
12/09/2025
The Late Late Show is back with a bang after the summer break, and Patrick Kielt...
12/09/2025
The World Athletics Championships, Ireland v France in the Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-final, the Irish Champions Festival, and two Sports Direct Men...
12/09/2025
The Records Show starts Sunday at 6.30pm on RT One and RT Player.
Katie Hanno...
11/09/2025
Report: Busy Live Sports Streaming Execs Have Low-hanging Fruit' in Front o...
11/09/2025
Inside Game Creek Video's Big Week as Ovation, Flagship Make NFL DebutsBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Thursday, September 11, 2025 - 7:00 am
Pr...
11/09/2025
NFL Kickoff 2025: Prime Sports Starts New Season at Lambeau Field; Sets Sights o...
11/09/2025
College Football Kickoff 2025: NBC Sports Pushes HDR Image Quality, Aerial Drone...