Some of the more eagle-eyed viewers (pardon the pun) noticed a strange flying object in turn one at the closing stages of this past weekend’s United States Grand Prix. The object sparked a debate online about the legitimacy of what was saw on the race broadcast. The official F1 account on Twitter has cleared up the confusion.
On the race broadcast, some viewers may have noticed the shadow of an eagle flying over the grandstands and across turn one before disappearing off of the camera when Daniil Kvyat was racing around the corner. Later Tweets of the video and still images confirmed that the shadow had in fact appeared on the broadcast.
However, the official F1 Twitter account has yet confirmed that spectators at the race wouldn’t have saw the shadow because it was all CGI. “Who spotted our virtual friend flying over @COTA on Sunday?” they asked.
It shouldn’t really be a shock, since the bird’s shadow had a wingspan nearly twice the length of a Formula One. This would have made it an absolutely massive creature.
The usage of CGI during the Formula One race broadcasts is nothing new, with the vast majority of sponsorship appearing on the track having been added digitally to the broadcasts. The sport has recently been experimenting further by including race graphics into the broadcast so that they appear to be sitting on the track.
However, this is the first time that the technology has been used in this playful manner. No further explanation into the meaning of the CGI image. It’s possibly a subliminal messaging ad, but it’s more likely just a symbol of America’s freedom.
Whatever the meaning behind the image, it sure did stir up a lot of social media attention for the sport, not that many videos of the incident were left standing after the infamous FOM takedown strikes that are performed routinely after a race weekend to prevent unlicensed footage and race broadcasts from becoming publicly viewable.
Was it a bird? ??
Was it a plane? ??
Who spotted our virtual friend flying over @COTA on Sunday? #USGP ???? pic.twitter.com/j7pERTQzxo
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 23, 2017
