

Building a F1 race simulator - rb2e
http://f1metrics.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/building-a-race-simulator/

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idlewords
I'm one of those people who finds Formula 1 dull—to me it seems to consist of
people running nearly identical perfect laps, with victory decided by pit
strategy. This simulator article reinforces my prejudices (it's all about
nerding out on tire wear). Can anyone suggest a strategy for learning to enjoy
the sport?

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sbarre
Like a lot of pro sports, the more you follow the news outside of the events
themselves (in F1 they lovingly call it the "circus"), the more you will gain
appreciation for the actual competition events themselves.

If you know the drama, the rivalries, the gossip and the news, then it
provides much more context and enjoyment to the sport.

That way, when Nico Rosberg locks up his tyres and runs wide when trying to
pass Lewis Hamilton in the second corner of the race, you know that's a big
deal that's going to cause some controversy because they are heated rivals,
instead of just "oh the green and grey car just tried to pass the other green
and grey car but screwed up"..

When Daniel Ricciardo is half a second back and trying desperately to get past
Fernando Alonso in the last 5 laps of the race to move from 7th to 6th place
to get those extra 2 championship points, if you know where they are in the
overall standings and that this particular battle on the track really matters,
then even though they're not even close to finishing at the front, it's more
exciting to watch - and it makes sense that the race director is showing this
instead of the race leaders who are all racing multiple seconds apart from
each other..

You need some kind of investment and engagement.. Even if you're not rooting
for one specific team..

That said, you do kind of have to also accept that some races are dull (like
today's Russian Grand Prix) and end up being a convoy of ground planes running
perfect laps... That just kind of comes with the territory, and there's not
much to do about it..

The next race will be (EDIT: at the Circuit of the Americas, not a street
circuit) in Austin TX on the weekend of Nov 2nd, and should actually be more
exciting, so maybe give that a watch..

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justinv
This is a great comment about F1. You have to immerse yourself in the
technicals and the non-technical 'gossip'/rivalries, etc-.

I'd also recommend checking out (either the full thing or some of the
highlights) from Bahrain's race this year if you want to see some incredible
head-to-head (& exciting) action.

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yaeger
Which is also why, I think, the F1 games that are out there are severely
lacking.

Especially all the circus around the race seems to be an afterthought at best.
What I want to be able to experience in such a game/simulation is not just the
race itself, but also the things that go on besides the track.

I want to be able to drive out of the box, through the pit, minding the
speedlimit and then enter the track to set a time. Simply seeing my car be
driven onto the track or even worse just flat out starting on the track takes
away the immersion.

Also, after the race on the podium, I'd love be able to experience this as
well but the games nowadays deem it enough to simply show the end result,
maybe a shot of the people of the podium and that's it.

I think simulations like this one mentioned in the article is an important
part if you want to personally immerse yourself in racing, but a lot of the
entertainment for the user also comes from the surrounding circus.

I'd love to see a game incorporate all of this. Especially seeing as non of
this is too far out or technically not possible. It is just a matter of having
or not having it in the game.

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mutagen
Interesting project and some other interesting posts on his blog.

MATLAB code at:
[https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BwS1t9oxSE-6N2xoQnNE...](https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BwS1t9oxSE-6N2xoQnNEdTlIVjQ&usp=sharing)

I haven't tried it in Octave yet.

Pre-Sochi prediciton post on Reddit:
[http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/2izfll/race_simula...](http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/2izfll/race_simulator_predictions_russia_2014/)

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ak217
Personally, I can't wait to get into Formula E. I hope it can be all of the
thrill and technology of F1, with less oil industry sponsorship guilt (and
perhaps less meddling from the FIA? One can hope.)

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ericcumbee
Until you can complete a race using one car Formula E is no more than a dog an
pony show. Motorsport is about 2 things. Proving the Quality of your product,
and pushing the technology forward. I do not see Formula E doing either yet.

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akira2501
I agree that the current Formula E pit stops look absolutely silly; however,
considering that refueling has been allowed in some F1 seasons, would you
accept a battery-swap style pit stop?

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yardie
I don't think batteries are even necessary. They could easily get electricity
from a sort of catenary or even wireless ground loops. These aren't daily
commuter cars. It's not required that they carry the energy onboard.

Now if the battery research that goes into Formula E trickles down to commuter
models than that would be a benefit.

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ericcumbee
Yes I think swapping batteries is a perfectly acceptable solution. It would be
no different than changing the tires. I preferred Formula One when they
allowed fueling in race.

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Cshelton
#ForzaJules

