The FIA is using new software to automatically detect when a driver has broken the rules during a race.
Racewatch uses real-time data from lap timing, the Global Positioning System and tyre information to look for patterns in car movement that indicate a driver may have broken the rules.
The system works in conjunction with the Riedel Communications system used by the FIA to monitor races.
Gareth Griffith, the developer behind the software, told the FIA’s InMotion magazine how it works:
“The idea of using it for Race Control started a couple of years ago. We tied in the cameras with the timing and the GPS, so we knew exactly where a car was on the track.
“Then we started to analyse the data to pick out incidents. The software creates alerts and that automatically takes the Riedel technicians to the right cameras, instead of them having to find them, as used to happen.
“Within a few seconds [race director] Charlie [Whiting] can be looking at the incident: either for safety purposes or to refer it to the stewards. It is automated, using the data available and algorithms based on the interactions in that data.
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