116 replies to this topic

[Wiggy]

http://www.f1zone.ne...-changes/20452/

 

A good thing? Some of the one of designs have been quite good, and the drivers must spend a fortune having these specially designed for them (i assume the teams aren't paying for the personal helmets?!)

 

 

[Ravenak]

Hallelujah

[Tomecek]

The world tends to regulate what doesn't require to be regulated.

 

Drivers can be distinguished by color of camera holders easily.

[Amphicar]

Given the bigger problems that Formula One has - several teams in financial difficulties and Bernie Ecclestone's forthcoming trial, this smacks of rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. I would certainly prefer drivers to stick to a consistent helmet design but it should be the driver's decision not FIA micro-management. What would the sanction be - a five place grid penalty?

[Anonymous]

Finally. 

[OO7]

The world tends to regulate what doesn't require to be regulated.

 

Drivers can be distinguished by color of camera holders easily.

[SR388]

I blame seb. Dude goes through helmets like I go through ladies. A new one ever fortnight.

[bub]

I don't like this idea. I like seeing new helmet designs and I've never had a problem telling who is who.

[Gilles4Ever]

What next, guidelines for facial hair? Gloves and boots are to match overall?

[muramasa]

I think the current limitation on car livery not allowing different scheme to 2 cars, in season switch etc stupid, then now they're considering extending that to helmet?

 

S T U P I D !

[KWSN - DSM]

The world tends to regulate what doesn't require to be regulated.

 

Drivers can be distinguished by color of camera holders easily.

 

I concur.

 

Commentators can not, but they never could when drivers had the same lid for a full career.

 

[Sin]

I think that's a regulation that isn't needed.... particulary since Seb is always easy to spot he is the Red Bull driver that doesn't have a yellow circle on the top of his helmet....

 

I have more a problem with Hamilton & Rosberg tho not in Singapur since Lewis got a special helmet there xD

Edited by Sin, 21 September 2013 - 11:19.

[Tonka]

The drivers can soon put a stop to this daft idea.  They all race with the same colour helmets.

[dau]

The "F1 technical committee", eh? Why would helmet liveries even be discussed by the Technical Working Group in the first place? Wonder where that news is coming from....oh, it's BILD.

[P123]

Simple solution is to make the numbers on the side of the cars bigger, if the sport is really that concerned about being able to distinguish between drivers in the same car.

[Sin]

Simple solution is to make the numbers on the side of the cars bigger, if the sport is really that concerned about being able to distinguish between drivers in the same car.

 

My thought or put the name of the driver in a readable size somewhere onto the car!

[Tonka]

My thought or put the name of the driver in a readable size somewhere onto the car!

 

 

And lose valuable advertising space !

[katmen]

BS

[st99]

Maybe it's the new plan to stop Vettel next year... he will be crushed when he hears this 

[spacekid]

The world tends to regulate what doesn't require to be regulated.

 

Drivers can be distinguished by color of camera holders easily.

 

Completely agree. I couldn't care less about the helmets, this seems daft. If the drivers want to change them then let them whenever it suits, it doesn't affect the racing or what they are doing on track.

[BenettonB192]

Sounds like something the bureaucrats in Brussels would come up with.

[Gorma]

One thing in the article caught my eye:

 

 

Even Lewis Hamilton, who usually fields the same Senna-like yellow helmet, is showing off a special white design this weekend.

Not quite Senna-like  They should ban ugly helmets all together.

 

Edited by Gorma, 21 September 2013 - 11:42.

[Fastcake]

Good, pick a helmet colour and stick to it. I don't mind new highlights or a change of sponsor, but the base design should remain constant.

[Les]

I use to love the days when you could clearly identify a driver by their helmet, think  of the great 80s designs Senna, De Angelis etc. 

 

However I can't find any reason why it should be regulated! Surely its a personal choice?

[Bloggsworth]

Pathetic - What's next? All spectators to turn up in regulation dress, like school-children, so as not to clash with the sponsor's colours?

[muramasa]

My thought or put the name of the driver in a readable size somewhere onto the car!

 

Like Lotus do 

[JHSingo]

Why, what's the point? This just stinks of old farts, to be honest.

 

F1 is becoming more like a strict school or something. You can't celebrate after a race, you can't say anything controversial, you might not be allowed to change your crash helmet design any more.

 

Sure, in the old days, drivers kept to one design. Things change. Get over it. A driver should be allowed to do whatever he wants. These days it is far easier to ID a driver thanks to better camera views, better on screen graphics, etc, than it used to be. Some people just seem to be stuck in the past.

 

As for the argument that you "can't tell who the driver is when he changes his design so often" well, it's only ever going to be one of two, isn't it? It probably hasn't changed since the last race. Most the time it is pretty easy to distinguish drivers anyway. It doesn't have any impact on the racing at all, and to be honest (although I guess I'm in the minority) I kinda look forward to seeing the new designs drivers bring to places like Monaco and Singapore. It gives the event an extra something.

 

If they want to make identifying drivers even easier, just make the car numbers more prominent. Since many are bereft of much sponsorship these days, it's not like you can argue they'll be taking up too much space...

Edited by JHSingo, 21 September 2013 - 12:00.

[ensign14]

 

Drivers can be distinguished by color of camera holders easily.

 

No they can't. 

 

The casual observer, to identify a driver, has to remember the team for which he is driving, whether he is the number 1 or the number 2 (which is often misleading), and then which colour is which (which I for one cannot remember).

 

The prompts on screen provide none of these details.  The chyrons show the number and the driver.  Expecting the casual observer to remember whether Hamilton is the number 1 at Mercedes or not and whether he has a red camera - which is often difficult to distinguish, given the size, remoteness from camera and blurred definition - is optimistic.

 

The easiest way to identify a driver instantly is with a big, visible number, that remains constant year on year.  It is ludicrous that cars that have next to no sponsorship do not use all that empty bodywork to ID their driver.  In the absence of visible numbers, a distinctive helmet design that becomes associated with the driver is the next best thing; unfortunately most helmets were designed by someone putting a helmet in a windtunnel as pigeons fed on food colouring and spangles shat all over it.

[jrg19]

Big numbers would be the best idea, I bet every car on the grid has a big area of unused space to put a number on.

[drag]

completely unnecessary 

[muramasa]

helmet used to be strong identifier for viewers until sometime in 90s, but not anymore due to head protection and more complicated and subtle design of modern helmet.

 

I dont know much about Indycar drivers and when I watch indy race sometimes, I have no idea who is who, which Penski is who, etc and I mostly rely on info shown on the screen. Nowadays those on-screen texts and tickers are more effective imo.

[LewDaMan]

I don't particularly like it when drivers (or should that be "driver" singular, Herr Vettel!?) change their designs too often. But actually legislating against it!? It seems a bit excessive.

Edited by LewDaMan, 21 September 2013 - 12:30.

[DutchQuicksilver]

Banning it completely seems harsh. Vettel is overdoing it with all his helmet swapping, yes. But something like Monaco specials surely wouldn't be banned? They've been around for more than a decade. I believe Kimi introduced that back in 2003.

[LewDaMan]

I suspect any ban on such a thing is driven by concerns about marketing and identifiable "brands" and the like. If you have a current 4xWDC (as Vettel looks likely to be soon) then I bet F1's ad-men and money-men want Vettel, out of all the current drivers, to be easily identifiable with a one-off, singular image. Changing helmet design five or six times a season compromises this. 

 

On a side note, I remember Brundle voicing how much he dislikes Vettel's constant design changes.

[JHSingo]

The easiest way to identify a driver instantly is with a big, visible number, that remains constant year on year.

 

You mean like in NASCAR? The only thing I don't like about that is how commentators often refer to a driver by his car number, rather than his actual name.

[KWSN - DSM]

Not on topic....

 

The discussion about not being able to identify the drivers is lost on me. I always know which driver in which car, I know where each of them are in the race, I know who they are behind, I know who they are in front. A blink of the eye and I know, no need to see numbers or helmets. For the most part I have 'called' what is happening before the commentators make an incorrect observation before they need to correct themselves.

 

Most fans I interact with are like me.

 

[Lee Nicolle]

Race cars of all categorys should have properly legible numbers. And the driver should wear a regulation helmet,,, of his or hers personal [and probably their sponsor] personal taste. Regulating a helmet design is bloody stupid. Whats next the all have to wear a different colored driving suit too. Lu Lu the fashion icon can have the pink one!

[LewDaMan]

Not on topic....

 

The discussion about not being able to identify the drivers is lost on me. I always know which driver in which car, I know where each of them are in the race, I know who they are behind, I know who they are in front. A blink of the eye and I know, no need to see numbers or helmets. For the most part I have 'called' what is happening before the commentators make an incorrect observation before they need to correct themselves.

 

Most fans I interact with are like me.

 

 

To be fair to F1 commentators, they have so much to concentrate on that it is far easier for viewers to sometimes be ahead of them in driver identification. They must be thinking of so many things of once as well as commentating that I am not surprised they make the occasional error.

[Andrew Hope]

Where was this fascist **** when McLaren spent all of last year outfitting their drivers in the goofiest race suits possible for qualifying?

[muramasa]

Not on topic....

 

The discussion about not being able to identify the drivers is lost on me. I always know which driver in which car, I know where each of them are in the race, I know who they are behind, I know who they are in front. A blink of the eye and I know, no need to see numbers or helmets. For the most part I have 'called' what is happening before the commentators make an incorrect observation before they need to correct themselves.

 

Most fans I interact with are like me.

 

 

you watch series that you do so rarely or occasinally and still can say the same? That's where all this comes from and that itself is relevant. Just that suggested solution is ****.

[Sin]

I like waiting to see Sebs new helmet design every race btw.... and actually there are not 1 but 2 competitions going on right now to make a Helmet design for Seb 1 for Abu Dhabi (worldwide) and 1 for Austin (just in US) you can win tickets and flight + hospitality for Abu Dhabi and I think the same at Austin.... I think it's cool they offer something like that for fans

[Ross Stonefeld]

Are you actually allowed to change the design or will it just be the normal Red Bull nothingness with the colors changed?

[spacekid]

I just came here to mention something I see Ensign and jrg19 have pointed out - what was wrong with having bigger numbers on the cars? Back when I started watching F1 all the cars had recognisable numbers on them. The Ferrari's had a big 27 and 28 on them, I never saw a Williams with Red 5 on it and thought - oh I wonder who that is. Bring back the bigger numbers!

[KWSN - DSM]

you watch series that you do so rarely or occasinally and still can say the same? That's where all this comes from and that itself is relevant. Just that suggested solution is ****.

 

I do not understand what 'you watch series that you do so rarely or occasinally and still can say the same?' mean. I am talking about F1 and being able to identify F1 drivers at sight, as can the fans I interact with in real life as well.

 

[DutchQuicksilver]

Where was this fascist **** when McLaren spent all of last year outfitting their drivers in the goofiest race suits possible for qualifying?

Wasn't that already back in 2010?

[Sin]

Are you actually allowed to change the design or will it just be the normal Red Bull nothingness with the colors changed?

 

well as far as I know you can make the whole design, the Sponsors etc and the big Red Bull Sign will naturally still be on the helmet but otherwise

[sheepgobba]

That the dumbest thing I've heard

 

Lauda needs to get real if he can't tell the difference. He's freaking at the races for crying out loud..

Edited by sheepgobba, 21 September 2013 - 14:33.

[muramasa]

I do not understand what 'you watch series that you do so rarely or occasinally and still can say the same?' mean. I am talking about F1 and being able to identify F1 drivers at sight, as can the fans I interact with in real life as well.

 

 

Those who watch F1 casually are having difficulty identifying who is who, just like you would if you watch, for example, Japanese racing series.

[OSX]

http://www.f1zone.ne...-changes/20452/

 

A good thing? Some of the one of designs have been quite good, and the drivers must spend a fortune having these specially designed for them (i assume the teams aren't paying for the personal helmets?!)

I certainly hope it happens just so it will put an end to the annoying over-the-top helmet changing silliness of some unnamed drivers.

[Ross Stonefeld]

I just came here to mention something I see Ensign and jrg19 have pointed out - what was wrong with having bigger numbers on the cars? Back when I started watching F1 all the cars had recognisable numbers on them. The Ferrari's had a big 27 and 28 on them, I never saw a Williams with Red 5 on it and thought - oh I wonder who that is. Bring back the bigger numbers!

 

I think the reason people noticed Mansell's car was not the number but the color of it. Like T-cam and helmet differences.