Can the F1 drivers see the times boards?

Question

after looking a question about it, why shouldn't they do it on the radio, it got me thinking, if the driver is doing like 120+mph on the straight, how can they see the board? surely to them its just a little black thing to them or a blur!

Answer 1

ok, they didn't have radios in the 50s, but they were going a lot slower than the cars today!

The drivers tend to be told over the radio and a board put out, it is so they don't run the risk of actually missing it completely.  They will be able to read them as at that speed you can focus in on things.

How do you miss a board on a kart track!?! thats my main question! In over 10 years of going karting I don't think I have ever missed a board!

Answer 2

2 words.

Peripheral Vision. They can read things without realising it, the way when you drive past billboards you don't try to read it, but you do automatically.

Answer 3

Or the Crew Chief radios in to the driver

but they might be able to see it

THe Front straight is usally the longest part of the track

Answer 4

i think that they cant see their boards because they are focusing on so many other things nowadays. for example throttle, braking, steering, gearshifts, other cars behind them, other cars infront of them, their mirrors.

i just cant see them being able to also look at a board with tiny letters telling them what their times are

Answer 5

their team show it

Answer 6

Yes they can, radios were not around in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

That's not saying that they are not difficult to see, they are often missed, I remember Jean Alesi retiring from the lead in the 1990s because his radio packed in and he never looked for his pit board and ran out of fuel.....

Its surprising what the drivers can see if they know where to look, they often see events happening on the huge track side TV screens too.

Answer 7

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Yes they can, but apparently it's impossible when going backwards according to Glock!

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Answer 8

Yes they can, although you'd be surprised how difficult it can be if you're not trained for it or used to it.

In kart racing the stewards show as a board counting down the last five laps.

Last time out I couldn't make out where he was.

Coming out of the last corner that's pretty fast I missed a man holding a board 5 laps in a row because he wasn't standing where I expected him to be.

I was too busy driving and thinking about the race to find the time to scan the start finish straight with my eyes looking for him.

That's doing 65 mph at that point so it's obviously not easy to read a board at 150mph.

But if you know where it's at, if you're used to high speed driving and if you want to know what's on it you can read it.