Helmet-cam video lap of Fiorano with Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari F10

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The helmet camera footage shows Alonso driving around Ferrari's test track

Ferrari have published two videos of Fernando Alonso’s shakedown of the updated Ferrari F10 at Fiorano last week.

You can watch both the videos below.

Ferrari used a filming day at their test track to evaluate updates to the F10 including Red Bull-style exhausts which feed air to the diffuser.

While all teams are allowed to conduct filming days the limits on the amount of running they can do and the cost of circuit hire may discourage Ferrari’s rivals from doing it. As Ferrari have their own test track it is probably more cost-effective for them.

In the first video Alonso talks us around a lap of the Fiorano circuit:The second shows Alonso’s track time in full, with him leaving and returning to the garage and performing a standing start:

As ever the helmet camera gave a fabulous impression of what it’s like to be behind the wheel, even if the video Ferrari has supplied is not very high quality.

If only we saw pictures like this during races instead of the flat and unexciting onboard footage we’re used to.

Here’s a satellite image of the Fiorano circuit where Ferrari have tested their F1 and road cars for decades:


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Read more: Ferrari bringing new exhausts to Valencia

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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52 comments on “Helmet-cam video lap of Fiorano with Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari F10”

  1. “As ever the helmet camera gave a fabulous impression of what it’s like to be behind thw heel, even if the video Ferrari has supplied is not very high quality”.

    Think is supposed to be ‘behind the wheel’

    Interesting to see how Ferrari manage to get round the testing ban.

    1. It’s possible for other teams to “test” if they choose to, but as Keith points out, they choose not to because of the cost it’ll incur.

    2. Fixed it, thanks!

    3. it was for a comercial a regular excuse between f1 teams at least they admit some of their doubtfull work ferrari vids are all a bit down on quality but i think the cameras fit on helmets are of good quality but putting a camera on a helmet maybe a bit unsafe and to record live it has to have an antenna

      1. If the design of helmets has to be modified so they can have an antenna and be safe with a cam inside, then I’m for the cost being incurred. Having said that, the helmets already have a tube for water and a cable for the radio attached to them, so I doubt that you need an antenna in the actual helmet.

        If they introduce the helmet cam I want to see the camera have the same focal length as the human eye. i want to know what the driver sees and doesn’t see. the Ferrari helmet cam seemed to have quite a wide angle lens.

        It would have been great to have a cam in Vettels helmet in Turkey. I’d love to see how much he looked across before he made his dart to the right.

        What would be brilliant would be if they could get the camera closer to the drivers eye line instead of on the top of the helmet. I’m imagining a cam embedded just above the visor. That would be great.

    4. strange the alonsos steering ratio

  2. William Wilgus
    24th June 2010, 14:22

    Yes, best method of viewing yet! Thanks for providing it.

  3. Of course they used their filming day as “testing session”, but as you can see in the video, it’s not more than a simple shakedown of the car…

    I’m not convinced they are getting really usefull data from it.

    1. Im going to post something I posted in the round up in response to this video because I think it’s far more relavant here. For any deleting of posts, please delete the round up post.

      This video is absolutley great, an a fantastic example of why F1 should be using more headcams.

      BUT, it also shows that this was clearly a test, that was a full speed blast around Fiarano, whith a practice start an even what looked like current Potenza tyres. Next we’ll here that McLaren have done a media day at Rockingham, an Mercedes just happen to have slipped one in at Hockenheim. Apart from the fact that it’s rather blatant cheating from Ferrari, more than I intially thought, it’s probably going to open the flood gates.

      Testing ban has gone as far as it needs to, it’s clear that we need limited testing in F1, an now the teams are starting to get around it, I reckon the answer is for teams to get 4 full test days, with a distance limit, in season, to replace the straight line tests, it’ll make everyone happy, an crush this bit of skullduggery before it gets out of hand.

      1. Or even let them run out the rest of their testing milage from the pre-season in the course of the season, either during FIA sanctioned group tests, or on a circuit of their choice whenever they want. I don’t think that even Ferrari used their full 20,000km in testing earlier this year.

        1. wificats, thats a good point and good idea. teams could be allowed a total amount of testing mileage to use throughout the entire season, or maybe to the halfway mark of the season.

      2. AFAIk they are not the first, or only team to have used these types of events for testing.

        Haters gonna hate…

      3. Can someone explain how they can do this this without penalty? I thought teams were just restricted to a few days straight line testing.

      4. Not blatant cheating at all, well within the rules. Do you really think that they would post videos of blatant cheating. they are allowed to do what they did.

        I do agree with your comments on the testing ban haven gone too far.

      5. ” that was a full speed blast around Fiarano”

        Not full speed Scribe, he was lapping in over a minute. The Lap Record at Fiorano:

        Lap record 0:55.999 (Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F2004, 2004)

        1. It seemed almost dead on 1 minute. That’s only a difference of 4 seconds, which is probably what you would expect the difference to be due to differences in regulations and the fact that Alonso had no practice laps to build up to it. I reckon it was full speed.

          1. Also Alonso could have more fuel onboard

      6. all teams stretch this rules mclaren aint inocent either they also do a lot of shows

      7. it’s the same for everyone… you can do this sort of things… every team is allowed…

      8. “Apart from the fact that it’s rather blatant cheating from Ferrari, more than I intially thought, it’s probably going to open the flood gates.”

        I don’t think it’s cheating and I think most teams would do it anyway eventually it’s just Ferrari are perhaps one of the first because they bang on about testing so much.

        It can’t be cheating though because 1/ it’s not against the rules and 2/everyone has the chance to do it just no-one has as yet. If there are complaints I think they should be directed to the loophole in the rules rather than teams exploiting it because itn was so clearly going to be exploited, they always are.

      9. they have done just 3 laps…

  4. Looks like the camera is mounted on top o the helmet, it would be much more interesting to see a camera mounted in drivers eye high(like this ->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZbJUkRziWA&feature=related<- absolutely terrifying), but still more interesting pictures than we usually see on TV :)

    1. Another good video.

      I think Davidson mentioned that he used a similar camera to test how a driver takes in all the information they need to or something.
      And when the engineers watched the video back they were amazed and asked him how the hell he could even see where he was going!
      That’s the sort of thing I’m sure everyone wants to see. To really get an impression of what the drivers deal with.

  5. That was awesome!
    thanks

  6. Great job Keith. Thank you.

  7. Nice video’s.
    They can’t have had much info from it, but still they sure would have wanted to do some laps to check the heating and such. Anything will help I guess :)

  8. Charles Carroll
    24th June 2010, 15:00

    Great videos, Keith!

  9. Actually, I was thinking the other day that Ferrari have started coming over all docile. When the Brawn/Todt/Schumacher triumvirate was calling the shots, they were constantly trying to stretch the rules and regulations to the max (and beyond, on occasion). These days they are playing it so safe, that technically they are always left trying to catch up with McLaren and now Red Bull as well.

    As Keith pointed out about the blown diffuser for example, the idea is not new. Last season, I’m pretty sure almost all the teams thought about the double diffuser idea, yet only a few tried it on. This time McLaren have come up with the blown rear-wing to circumvent the non-driver-movable body parts rules and yet again Ferrari are left trying to copy.

    So I think, while perhaps (that is up for debate, personally I don’t think they got any useful data from this shakedown) not entirely to the spirit of the rules, for the competitiveness of Ferrari it must be good news that they are at least trying again.

  10. Is that a quick blast of F-duct at 1m12?

    That was fantastic! With all the head movement it’s so much more physical than the car-mounted camera. Would be amazing (probably tiring as well!) to watch this in a race at Monaco or Interlagos.

  11. The Fiorano-advantage was supposed pay Ferrari dividends with the testing ban. It has not. Is it an advantage to have your own track? Heck yeah. But with the way cars are designed today, it’s probably more important to have a set up like the McLaren Technology Centre and have the most efficient computing systems than it is to have a nice private test track in a sunny locale.

    1. anybody can buy a computer.

      1. – And develop/invest in the right software
        – And educate the right engineers
        – And develop the right simulation models
        – And set the right simulation parameters
        – And do the right tests

        There is heck of a lot of difference from just buying a computer and starting F1 2010.

    2. Fiorano is the test track for their road cars too and it’s not like they’ve only recently built the place either.

      It’s main function for the F1 team is probably promotional work these days, somewhere for them to invite fans, sponsors and the press that has all of the facilities they need to do demonstration runs that’s conveniently located near to the factory.

      There’s some interesting information on the track website about how the different corners are designed to test different parts of the car;
      http://www.fiorano.com/company/fiorano_name.php

  12. Great link to that Kubica eye cam. CART and Indycars tried that camera a few years ago and had too much difficulty getting a good feed. Seeing as how far behind F1 is on hi-def, I wouldnt look for a new camera in the next decade.

    Is there a technical reason for doing the launch just before the garage? In practice, cars often pull into the pit, do a quick launch, then back into the garage.

    1. that was a practice start. when they’re launching from the pits, they are doing a practice pit exit and seasoning the pit box.

  13. helmet cam on kubica would be great

  14. very cool the pits looks like an shell gas pump

  15. I’ve been wondering – what’s the little duct on the inside of the left mirror for? Is it a camera? A similar thing also appears on the RB6

    Thanks to anyone who can answer!

  16. Maybe something like this could have us actually enjoy watching Valencia, make it part of the updated Ferrari package now they were tested together.

    Oh and about this not being a fast, full speed, lap. Scribe is right about that. The guy doing the lap record did over 10.000 laps on this circuit in cars going much faster. Alonso did maybe his first 3 laps of the track in a F1 car, a completely new one at that.
    So he went full out with it, just not as close to the limits of the track as he does not yet know them.

  17. I can’t see that it could bring any useful information.According to Alonso on other sites, the car was carrying ten cameras, plus helmet cams.That lot would ruin any viable aero data they collected.

  18. Here are a couple more:
    youtube.com/watch?v=RS6QabjVSQ4
    youtube.com/watch?v=YlWhQJszC1I
    youtube.com/watch?v=rTdQj9BtpnE
    youtube.com/watch?v=SK4E4EAoZbM
    (last 2 not quite from the visor level but still)

  19. Fascinating watching his practice start. It really illustrates how many little knobs and buttons they have to mess with especially at the start of a race…

    1. I thought exactly the same, it’s just too many buttons.

      Not to mention all the adjustments he needs to do while racinng (and now they are going to introduce even more).

  20. My God these cameras are so much better. Engine sounds meaner. Car ‘looks’ quicker and more aggressive. If only they could incorporate them into every car at a Grand Prix.

    1. btw, not sure if this has been posted yet, but here is Schumi going around the same track in the F2004. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifKQoW3Cuzk

      Freaking tremendous sound. Can see how much better cars corner nowadays, even though they’re still miles behind on acceleration (not that they can help that).

  21. Hey the red/white smoke brand bar codes (or the not the smoke brand) where on Alonsos gloves. ;)

    1. I want a smoke now.. lol

  22. cheeting or not, what ever, thank you for the video ferrari!

  23. Interesting onboard video, but the camera really was too high to give impression of what drivers can see.

    And where are the overtaking opportunities? The comment on the lap was kind of pointless to me, I don’t think many people would be interested in such a private track.

  24. This camera positioning is much better than the one Coulthard used in Brazil if I recall correctly…

  25. Interesting to see the santander logo reflected in the wing mirrors. Now that all the mirrors are inboard, I wonder if more teams will take advantage of the commercial opportunity and reposition logos so the reflections appear in onboard footage.

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