I Began Tracking Telemetry In F1 2020; I Still Hate It

You will always remember those moments when you have done something wrong. That time you said the wrong name to someone, or that time you came home after sneakily eating the kebab you said you wouldn’t and your other half shouted at you until you offered to sleep on the couch. All I’m saying is, I’m not going back to that club; Leather masks and everything. However, that’s not what I’m here to talk about today. I’m here to talk about converting to the dark side of the Formula, the side I’ve openly criticized. Data!

I’ve said it before, I hate F1 for its boring data-driven races where once again Lewis Hamilton wins, Botas is in second, and Max Verstappen (I’d assume) tries to use some kind of slur-like phrase, and is called out for it. We’ll ignore the fact that F1 is trying desperately to run a campaign called “#EndRacism/#WeRaceAsOne.” Meanwhile, fans on Reddit are as delightful as ever and don’t get the point. We’ll also brush aside what is happening in F1 at the moment as well, as that’s not what I’m here to talk about. I am, in fact, here to talk about F1 2020 the game, the one I said I quite enjoyed back in July because there is a lot of depth in it.

I still stand by that, and I still hold the casual mode/accessibility options high while elitist fans don’t. It is easily one of the most accessible and fun sim-racers around, and I can’t really argue with that too much when people are finding glee at that speed that I do. However, I’ve gone a step further than I thought I ever would with F1 2020. It is something I thought I’d never say or do, but I’m now collecting the data. I honestly never understood what the “telemetry” option in the settings window was all about, it asked about broadcasting, IPs, and other such things. I left that alone last year.

This year, following Chain Bear’s video on how the telemetry (the wiggly lines) translates to fast cars (car performance), I thought I’d look into it. I’ve done so on two race tracks so far. The rather boring track Hungaroring with its fast bendy bits that result in fine races, and the magnificently beautiful piece of perfection that is Spa Francorchamps. Mostly for the benefit of my editor, the latter is a long and windy circuit in the hills of Belgium with a straight that tops out at 214 MPH, which is fed into by an uphill combination at 200 MPH. All that, and a series of fast, medium, and slow corners. Spa is up there with Monaco as a racing driver’s paradise. It is brilliant, terrifying, and deadly.

That uphill combination of a left, right, and a left is called Eau Rouge and Raidillon for the “red river” and “steep slope.” It is world-famous for just how steep it is and the speed you take it at in an F1 car. At the bottom, you can’t see the end of turn 5 (the exit). As a result of just how low you are, you can’t see the exit for turn 5 until you are out of it, and that is horrifying at 200 MPH. What is more terrifying is knowing you are meant to take that with your foot planted to the floor, and if you don’t, you’ll end up in the red river.

I know for a fact that the first time you attempt it, you’ll be cocky. You’ll start crying about turn 3, poo yourself on 4, have left your body by turn 5, and that’s only a few seconds. I know, I’ve driven it hundreds of times, and I’ve got some of the data to back that up. The rest of the track is a fun breeze with a bit of breaking here and there, a bit of lift and coast, and some quick gear drops. I’ve always hated the analysis of this part of F1, it makes it boring, and that’s only for men named Nigel. Yet, as I’ve already said I’ve come to the dark side. I’m starting to transmit the data while playing to my PC, and trying to decipher the mess of wiggly lines.

I’ll say it right now, I don’t understand the point in the race analysis in PXG F1 Telemetry. I know who won, I have the trophy and the anger for the stewards to prove it. I don’t need the squiggly lines to tell me where everyone dove into the pits. I also find it weird that if you use a couple of flashbacks because Kimi swiped the nose off me, that suddenly Hamilton does 92 laps in a 70 lap race where I’ve done 75. Don’t ask me how that math works out, I’m still confused at how I’m meant to remember to stay in a higher gear or break later than I felt comfortable with. What I do find fascinating, and I hate that I’ve said that, is seeing the speed or where I’ve lost traction and balance.

It is a simple little thing, but being able to cross-reference that with actual data where I’m not sliding about the place is valuable. That is when I think I’m gaining those seconds or fractions thereof that all the TV pundits and analysts I keep getting bored to death by. “Let’s go the Sky Pad–” No! Let’s go make coffee so I can watch this race that Lewis Hamilton is going to win, again. As bad as it may sound since this includes people possibly being put in harm’s way; I hate the data that prevents tire blowouts, the fuel not running out, or some other failure on the part of the team and the driver.

As entertainment, the data is one of many factors that just result in F1’s lack of exciting races more often than not. This season of the FIA Formula 1 championship is proof; when teams don’t have all the data, when Hulkenburg super subs during a positive COVID test (by another driver) and takes the car from P20 to P8 with only 5 laps under his belt before the race, there is more excitement. Especially when there is a shorter weekend this coming weekend at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (Imola). The first few laps of Portimão this past weekend during the race had me up and ready to shout. When data isn’t driving the sport, it makes it more entertaining.

However, driving in it, doing the practice laps, and checking the data, it gives a bit more stability to my understanding. I still love just going out and having to process what I’ve done through memory, but I now understand why you’d want that comfort on a tricky track. When you are taking the game seriously, as if you were fighting for an actual championship with merit, I could see why you’d focus on the data.

The exact same would be said of Ferrari or Red Bull trying to pip Mercedes in the next season or two; you are trying to outdo them, so look at the data and better them. Though I stand by the point, it doesn’t make the championship exciting, nor has it made the game any more exciting. In fact, I’ve just got myself a second job as a data analyst.