Formula 1’s new gyro camera adds a Dutch angle to the Dutch Grand Prix
Formula 1 racer Lando Norris in Bahrain in 2022. | Photo: Hasan Bratic / Picture Alliance via Getty Images
Formula 1 broadcast footage from the Dutch Grand Prix qualifiers at Circuit Zandvoort this weekend that was captured by a gyro camera system mounted above the helmet of the weekend’s race winner, Lando Norris.
The camera, which F1 has been testing since 2022, was conceived with an eye particularly toward accentuating exaggerated angles of banked turns at Zandvoort, but despite using it there last year, F1 wasn’t able to broadcast it, according to AutoSport.
Watch Lando Norris soar through the sand dunes (via gyro cam) as he secured pole position at Zandvoort #F1 #DutchGP @pirellisport pic.twitter.com/aa5ZPD13U6— Formula 1 (@F1) August 24, 2024
Many F1 fans on social media praised the broadcasts from Norris’ car, saying things like that it helped “really see the banking,” or that it should be on all of the cars. Others thought it ruined the perception of speed or worried that it could contribute to motion sickness.
This camera angle on Hamiltons car is wicked. It’s almost a steady cam that follows what the curvature of the track is actually like, this is exactly how this track would flow with the camber. It’s incredible #JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/2jPNwhosgB— Tim Hauraney (@timhauraney) September 22, 2023
Dino Leone, Formula 1’s head of onboard camera operations, explained in a recent video that the camera allows for on-the-fly adjustments to increase or decrease the gyroscopic effect. Formula 1 used the camera in some 2023 races, such as in Brazil and Japan, and plans to use it more often this year.
Formula 1 racer Lando Norris in Bahrain in 2022. | Photo: Hasan Bratic / Picture Alliance via Getty Images
Formula 1 broadcast footage from the Dutch Grand Prix qualifiers at Circuit Zandvoort this weekend that was captured by a gyro camera system mounted above the helmet of the weekend’s race winner, Lando Norris.
The camera, which F1 has been testing since 2022, was conceived with an eye particularly toward accentuating exaggerated angles of banked turns at Zandvoort, but despite using it there last year, F1 wasn’t able to broadcast it, according to AutoSport.
Watch Lando Norris soar through the sand dunes (via gyro cam) as he secured pole position at Zandvoort #F1 #DutchGP @pirellisport pic.twitter.com/aa5ZPD13U6
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 24, 2024
Many F1 fans on social media praised the broadcasts from Norris’ car, saying things like that it helped “really see the banking,” or that it should be on all of the cars. Others thought it ruined the perception of speed or worried that it could contribute to motion sickness.
This camera angle on Hamiltons car is wicked.
It’s almost a steady cam that follows what the curvature of the track is actually like, this is exactly how this track would flow with the camber. It’s incredible #JapaneseGP #F1
— Tim Hauraney (@timhauraney) September 22, 2023
Dino Leone, Formula 1’s head of onboard camera operations, explained in a recent video that the camera allows for on-the-fly adjustments to increase or decrease the gyroscopic effect. Formula 1 used the camera in some 2023 races, such as in Brazil and Japan, and plans to use it more often this year.