According to reports, a new “Info Wing” technology will be making its debut at the final race of the 2014 season on the Force India car. This new piece of technology was designed by Anthony Hamilton, the father of Mercedes racing legend Lewis Hamilton. The design will be tested on the Force India car during the free practice sessions on Friday. It will then be either approved or denied by the FIA to be used in the race. The wing will be added to the onboard camera casing which is located on the roll hoop of the car and is an LED display that will display information to the spectators such as position, track conditions and tyre strategy which will be streamed to the car by race control. Although the Info Wing has not yet made an appearance on the track, I have a few concerns about this technology.
On the light weight Formula One cars, added additional weight is always a concern. No matter how light this new piece of equipment is, ever gram has an effect on the car’s performance. Some extra weight may include the LED screen, computer chips, additional wiring and an additional antenna (if the device is not run from an existing antenna). Although each of these parts may not seem very heavy, they all add up.
Cost is another factor that seems even more important this year, as apposed to other seasons. These cars are crammed with a load of the latest technology, making the cars quite expensive to own and maintain throughout the duration of the season. This new device will simply be an added cost to teams and one that the teams may not feel is necessary because it doesn’t really help the team in any way. In the event of an accident similar to Felipe Massa’s crash at the Hockenheimring earlier in the season, this expensive piece of technology will be damaged beyond repair. Although forcing a team to purchase the Info Wing will not make them go bankrupt, it will certainly not help the situation.
The biggest issue that I have with this technology is that it will not really improve a fan’s viewing experience. Based on the size of the display, the writing will small and the further away a fan is situated from the track, the less likely it is that a fan will even be able to read the display. Plus, if you factor in the speed of the car, poor visibility in wet conditions and sun glare, it is hard to believe that it would be possible the average fan to read the display from the grandstands or even track-side. The design will supposedly improve your viewing experience on television. However, this kind of useless because all of the same data that will be on the LED system is already displayed on the broadcasts. For a close up shot you may be able to read the display, but from a long shot or helicopter, it will be impossible.
Overall, I’m not a huge fan of this new technology. I am usually excited to see something new added to Formula One, but this is not a system that I feel is worth while to continue to develop. In order for this to be a good system, it has to serve some sort of purpose. I mean no offense to Anthony Hamilton. I just feel that particular device is not needed in the sport world.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company. Assumptions made in any analysis contained within this article are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author.
