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Formula 1 Timing Screens Explained

By Brad Spurgeon, About.com

5 of 9

Screen 3: Race Control Messages

Graphic image screenshot (c) Formula One Management Ltd.

Screen 3 has the same format for all sessions and is made up of two parts.

Race Control Messages

The top half shows messages sent directly from Race Control along with the time each message was sent. The list of messages scrolls upwards so that the most recent message is always shown at the bottom. The most recent message is displayed in magenta for one minute after which it will revert to yellow.

These messages are used to inform everyone about the status of a session (e.g. Delayed Start, Chequered Flag, Red Flag, etc.) and any additional information Race Control wishes to convey (e.g. car 7 stopped at turn 10).

Weather Information

The bottom half of Screen 3 shows weather information and is split into three sections.

The section on the left shows a map of the circuit with an arrow pointing in the direction in which the wind is blowing. The map is orientated such that the top of the screen is north.

The central section contains a graph showing the weather data collected over the previous three hours. This graph will change every few seconds to show, sequentially: Temperature both the track and air temperatures in degrees Celsius; Wet/Dry the prevailing track condition (wet or dry); Wind speed the wind speed in meters per second; Humidity the relative humidity; Pressure the atmospheric pressure in millibars. The section on the right shows the most recent weather readings.

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