Poll: Which F1 graphics set do you prefer?

Last weekend, at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, Formula One Management (FOM) unveiled a new graphics set, which on the whole has been well received by blog readers. Inevitably, comparisons will be made between this set of graphics and previous iterations. But which set is your favourite? Here is a look at each graphics set, along with a poll at the bottom of this post.

I’ve made a conscious decision to leave out any of the graphics set from before 1994, as my knowledge of what happened before then in this area is limited. I also don’t know whether there was a consistent graphics set used for complete years, or whether it was the decision of each of the local hosts. What I do know though, is that from 1994, things became a lot more consistent.

1994 to 2003
Anyone who began watching Formula 1 in the late 1990’s will remember this graphics set fondly. Probably dubbed as the classic graphics set, the World Feed graphics were standardised for the beginning of 1994 and remained in place for a decade.

The classic graphics set on display during the 2000 Australian Grand Prix Qualifying session.

For its time, the graphics did their job perfectly, but towards the end, the graphics set had outlived their welcome as viewers wanted more data and detail, especially those that had returned to the World Feed from the defunct F1 Digital+ platform. Plus, it is fair to say that those graphics would be unsuitable in a widescreen era, and unusable in a three-part qualifying session if not tweaked significantly.

1996 to 2002 – F1 Digital+
Whilst the majority of the world were accustomed to the classic graphics set seen above, a small portion of the audience who subscribed to the F1 Digital+ service across Europe (and in the UK through Sky during 2002) received a different graphics set, which was arguably ahead of its time.

The F1 Digital+ graphics set in action during practice for the 2002 United States Grand Prix.

Those who watched via the standard World Feed did see the F1 Digital+ graphics set once, during the 2002 United States Grand Prix, but apart from that, it was hidden away on the pay-per-view service. Once the service collapsed, the graphics were never seen again, although the collapse of the service was what probably led to the World Feed graphics getting an overhaul for the beginning of the 2004 season.

2004 to 2009
The 2004 to 2009 graphics set was notable given the number of new features that came with it, such as the timing tower, which I don’t believe was included in the F1 Digital+ set. This was also the first graphics set that made heavy use of the three lettered abbreviations that are now commonplace in motor sport. What I don’t know is whether these were FOM innovations within motor racing, or a trend that began elsewhere – anyone who watches football will know that abbreviations have been around for decades.

The no flash, more modern graphics set on display during qualifying for the 2006 Australian Grand Prix.

Items such as the rev-counter, which commonly appeared on F1 Digital+, soon became integrated into this graphics set. As with every graphics set, the set was adjusted as time progressed, but the basic template remained the same throughout. As FOM made the transition to widescreen for the 2007 season, the graphics set remained within the 4:3 safe area until they were replaced at the end of 2009. It may not have been the flashiest graphics set ever, however it did its job fine.

2010 to 2014
All of the previous graphics set up until 2010 had featured straight lines, either horizontally or vertically. The graphics set introduced at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix went for a more slanted approach, this was presumably done so it matched the slanted aspect of the F1 logo. Yes, the graphics did look ‘sexier’ than previous versions, but did it provide anything that the previous versions did not? Well, not really.

A picture of FOM's graphics set, as seen during Q2 at the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix. — A picture of FOM’s graphics set, as seen during Q2 at the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix.

When I compared Dorna’s MotoGP graphics with FOM’s graphics in October 2013, I concluded that “if you are looking for something easy on the eye, then FOM wins, but if you want a data driven set, then Dorna with their MotoGP graphics is a clear winner.” Like the previous version, this set of graphics went through multiple iterations from 2010 until 2014, but the overall vision remained the same, with not much changing under the surface during the course of those five years.

2015
And so, we come to 2015. The year in which FOM have appeared to rip up anything that existed beforehand and start fresh. The inspiration behind the minimalist approach stems from the way design is heading currently, with big brands going down that route. FOM are only following the trend, and I think they have made the right decision. I’m a really big fan of what we saw over the weekend.

The new graphics set on display during practice two at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.

Of course, there are always room for improvements with any graphics set, but these are minor tweaks rather than a fundamental flaw in the design. In the poll currently running, 68 percent of you say that you like the new graphics, which is a huge step in the right direction. But, where does the 2015 graphics set stack up for you historically? Do you like the minimalist approach, or do you wish we could travel back in time to the 1990’s and get the ‘black and yellow’ colour scheme back? It is time to have your say in the poll below and as always your views and opinions are welcome.

New F1 graphics set coming for 2015

Alongside the relaunch of the new Formula 1 website, that wasn’t the only thing that changed on the broadcasting side of things, with a brand new grahics set making its debut at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.

Thankfully, the slanted nature of the aspect, which has been a part of the coverage since 2010, appears to be disappearing, with a much more slicker set of graphics appearing in its place.

New track graphic from the World Feed, on display at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.

In my opinion, the graphics are significantly better than their predecessor. For a while, I have said that Dorna’s graphics set for MotoGP are better than the graphics that Formula One Management produce for F1, however the change in graphics may change my perceptions where that is concerned.

The new graphics look cleaner, slicker and more importantly, they take a minimalist approach. They do not dominate the screen and are easy on the eye, I think the transparency helps in that respect. There is always room for improvement. If you wanted to integrate social media further into the product, one possibility would be to move the session timer to the middle of screen, with the appropriate hashtag in the top left corner of the screen. Interestingly, back in 2004, when the World Feed moved away from the back and yellow graphics, the timer was initially in the top left corner before being moved to the middle, so Formula One Management (FOM) may again take that route.

Overall, as we head into qualifying and the race, FOM have made significant strides forward on both the World Feed and online. Let’s hope this continues as the weekend progresses.

Updated on Friday 13th March.

Revamped Formula 1 website unveiled

The revamped version of the official Formula 1 website has been unveiled in time for the 2015 Formula One season. The website officially went live on Thursday 12th March after several days of users seeing beta versions located at various URLs.

It has been a fast paced week where the new website is concerned. The beta version did go live for about two hours on Monday evening (9th March), however it soon disappeared, so it presumably was not meant to be launched quite like it was! Early on Thursday, both versions started 404’ing out, making it clear that the move was happening. Later on, the new website went live. So, how has it gone down with me?

On the eve of the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, the homepage of the brand new Formula 1 website.

Look and feel
The screenshot posted above of the homepage does not even tell half of the story. The new website, on tablets, phones and desktop, is very, very slick. It’s quite clear that a lot of effort has gone into the new version of the website, which Formula One Management should be commended for. My initial impressions are largely positive. It was evident that this needed to catapult FOM into the 21st century, and I think it has gone some way to achieving that. The old version of the website was nearly a decade old. It desperately needed some life thrown into it, the world wide web has moved on a lot from the mid 2000s, and FOM were struggling to keep up.

One point that could be made is that the homepage is too long, however it should be recognised that things are moving away from desktop and towards the tablet. The homepage takes that into account with very specific sections: banner, news, current race, championship standings, video and the footer. It looks impressive, and easy on the eye. In the footer, we see a link to F1’s Twitter feed. No Facebook or YouTube yet, so, despite a verified YouTube channel, it looks like we will be waiting a bit longer for that, corroborating with previous comments made by Marissa Pace, who is Formula One Management’s Digital Media Manager.

F1 Access pricing and details
This is the membership area, which should not be a surprising introduction, given that Pace mentioned it back in December. The beta also confirms that this area will be behind a pay-wall. Pricing for UK users will be £2.29 a month or £19.99 a year. Neither of those prices seem extortionate to me, although it depends on whether you feel the content will justify the price, we will only find out the answer to that in the coming months. Over in the US, the price will be $2.99 a month or $26.99 a year, which should be of massive relief to some users, the early beta showed the price as $129.99 a year in error!

They are giving away a free one-month trial until April 13th, which is similar to what the WWE do with their online network. It normally boosts the subscription numbers and hooks people on for the longer term, so don’t be surprised if the ‘free month’ is a tactic that is repeated as the year progress, perhaps in the Summer break would be my guess. It is important to note that access to the membership area will work in tandem with the Official F1 App. There will not be two separate fees to pay. If you pay £19.99 for the year, you will be covered for the app and the membership area. From that perspective, I get the impression that FOM loved the figures that they were getting for the app in 2014 and want to exploit that further this year, hence the membership area. I can’t say I blame them, in that respect.

No live video, either, the only thing surrounding video concerns “HD video edits, highlights and behind the scenes.” The description for F1 Access is as follows: “Enhance the way you experience Formula 1 racing. Discover a level of detail you won’t find anywhere else – complete with in-depth insights, exclusive content, up-to-the-minute race data, and more.”

A look at what anyone can access on the new Formula 1 website, versus what those with F1 Access can access.

Video and radio content
The million dollar question was always going to be video content considering the old website had very limited video content, with most of it consigned to the app. The good news is that there appears to be significant improvements in this area. Free users, those who are not members as shown above get access to race weekend interviews and some archive footage. I suspect the archive footage will be retrospectives, which was also free occasionally on the F1 App last year as well. In contrast, those who are members will also get access to daily videos from the circuit, session highlights, technical content and updates from Formula 1 testing. The way I read that means, this time next year, all Winter testing content will be behind the pay-wall in order to drive people towards the membership area.

Elsewhere, the editorial section makes reference to the membership area receiving “industry-leading editorial content featuring video supplements and historical footage from the archives.” Overall, if you’re looking from archive content, there is no major benefit to becoming a member, in my opinion, but that may change as time progresses. The radio content on the membership area is similar to that previously on the App, with some team radio exclusive to that group.

Social media
Looking around the beta website, this is the main weakness. The one link, as I mentioned above, to Twitter was at the very bottom of the homepage. The news articles, on the beta at least, does not have any ‘Share to Facebook’ or ‘Share to Twitter’ buttons, which is very disappointing. It is all good tweeting about the news articles, but what needs to be recognised is that it is a ‘two way conversation’. There needs to be the ability to share news articles to social media, so the fact that this is missing is an odd omission.

As always, have your say in the poll and in the comments below, and if you were one of the lucky few, what did you think?

Update on March 10th – No new site, yet. The official site is still showing the old version. Interestingly though, the official YouTube channel for F1 along with its Google+ page are now in brand colours. I wonder if they’re hoping to launch their YouTube channel and the new website at the same time?

Update on March 12th – Screenshots updated, as has the description.

Update on March 12th at 19:30 – Hooray! It is live and in living colour.

News round-up: Australia gets 50/50 split; F1 website roll-out coming

Before I get into the round-up, a quick update on the status of this blog. As regular readers may be aware, I am currently in the final year of my undergraduate degree. This means that, especially in the last few months, I have been spending less time maintaining the blog, which is why the news round-up’s have turned up sporadically, so I can bundle what would be three or four separate articles into one succinct post.

On some days, time is limited to just University work (or relaxing!), meaning that writing new content for the blog is an afterthought. The reduction in content will continue for at least the next month, but should pick back up as we head into April. In the mean time, this is what has been dominating the agenda during the past week.

Australia gets a BBC/Sky style deal
It was rumoured late last year that Australia would be heading towards a shared coverage deal from 2016. Critically, the structure of the deal would be different to that of BBC and Sky, with Network Ten and Fox Sports sharing coverage every race, but Fox Sports would broadcast every practice and qualifying session exclusively live.

The shared deal between Fox and cash-strapped Network Ten has now been confirmed. Unfortunately for Australian readers, there were two big surprises. The first is that the deal between Fox Sports and Network Ten will be structured in exactly the same way as the BBC and Sky deal in the United Kingdom. Secondly, the deal comes into effect from this season. Yes, that is the season that is less than a month away!

Reading around, it looks like Fox Sports will be taking Sky Sports F1’s UK commentary. Some people have interpreted this as meaning that Australian viewers will also have access to content such as Ted’s Notebook and Sky’s pre and post-race coverage. I don’t believe that is the case. Australian television has taken the UK commentary for years, going back to the late 1990’s, perhaps even earlier, and never was it accompanied by the extras that UK viewers get.

The new F1 website gets closer
A teaser banner promoting the new Formula 1 website has been posted on the current Formula 1 website, with the tag-line “All the action, anytime, anywhere.” The images in the banner clearly show that the new website is mobile ready and configured for different types of devices. It looks like the new website will arrive before Australia, although no date has been confirmed. Presumably it will be the same date as the new 2015 Formula One app, but nothing has been made official.

You would have to squint to decipher anything else from the four screens, but a member button is clearly visible in the top right of each screenshot, which supports previous comments made by Marissa Pace, Formula One Management’s Digital Media Manager. In an article (£) this week, Jonathan Noble, AUTOSPORT’s Group F1 Editor, said that Formula 1 needs YouTube, a thought I completely agree with, as it would help immensely in introducing F1 to the next generation. Pace mentioned that YouTube will happen with regards to F1, but when? Well, that’s the million dollar question. Beyond the membership area, there is nothing else to say about the screenshots, but good luck to anyone who wishes to try…

Changes elsewhere
Speaking of AUTOSPORT, there is a fair bit of movement happening over there, almost like the F1 media has its own transfer window! Pablo Elizalde left AUTOSPORT to join Motorsport.com as of February 1st. Elizalde was not the only journalist heading out of AUTOSPORT’s doors, earlier this week, it was announced that Jonathan Noble will be joining Motorsport.com from May. Both of them are huge gains to Motorsport.com’s portfolio, as it becomes increasingly clear that they are looking to become a major player in the digital world. With Charles Bradley leading the ship, it will be fascinating to see where things head from here.

With exits, there are arrivals. Lawrence Barretto jumps ship from BBC’s F1 online team to AUTOSPORT as their new F1 reporter. That in itself is a big move, not only do AUTOSPORT gain a talented writer, but BBC’s F1 online output is once again sliced. At this point, Andrew Benson must be the only permanent F1 writer that BBC have.

More pre-Australia scheduling news
The special Formula 1 edition of A Question of Sport will air next Friday (27th February) at 19:30 on BBC One, it has been confirmed. I’m a bit surprised that this wasn’t held back until the Friday before Melbourne if at all possible to help build-up to the new season. The edition features McLaren test driver Kevin Magnussen and Red Bull boss Christian Horner alongside BBC F1 team members Suzi Perry and David Coulthard.

Elsewhere, the Australian Grand Prix Qualifying programme will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 as usual, but also Sky Sports 1 and Sky1, which is an unusual occurrence! The benefit of it being on Sky1 is that Sky1 has a +1 service, for anyone who wishes to have an extra hour in bed. The race will still be exclusively live on Sky’s F1 channel.