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Priestley reveals: ''They don't take those graphics of F1 seriously at all''

25 June 2020 at 10:16
Last update 25 June 2020 at 10:50
  • GPblog.com

On Tuesday, Formula 1 presented a new plan to add six real-time graphics to the live report of a Formula 1 session. However, that plan wasn't (again) appreciated by most fans and critics.

Nobody happy with the graphics

''I've asked people for their opinion, but no one's actually happy about it,'' Marc Priestley reflects the atmosphere among fans in his latest video. The former mechanic of McLaren understands why Formula 1 wants to continue the collaboration with Amazon Web Services in this way, but still thinks that this plan is failing.

''It is clearly a commercial deal. The two parties are already working together and just want to expand that. For example, in 2019 we already had data on the pit stop window and tyres. Those were also very poorly received back then. The problem is that it's based on data, but not on enough data to be accurate''.

Formula 1 thinks it's a joke

Driver's tyres were often left at the same percentage for laps at a time, which is hilarious not only for fans, but also in F1. ''Nobody in Formula 1 takes those statistics seriously. In fact, they just see it as a joke. Formula 1 is aiming for new fans, but they forget that most of the fans have been watching F1 for years and know everything about it''.

Priestley doesn't have a solution of his own, but he hopes the data won't get in the way of the racing experience. ''You don't want to see a statistic when two drivers are fighting each other. They need to find a balance to attract new fans and not disturb the old fans with useless statistics," concludes Priestley.