Lando Norris says pedal cam could have ‘better view’ in the future
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Lando Norris
In Silverstone, Formula 1 used a pedal camera in Lando Norris’ McLaren, giving fans a view of how the drivers operated their car from inside the cockpit. This was the first time that Formula 1 trialled a pedal cam since 2000 when the camera had been fitted into Pedro da la Rosa’s car at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Lando Norris finished 6th in Silverstone, behind Fernando Alonso, but this was because of a strategic pit stop error from McLaren, who pit him later than was optimal during the safety car, which meant he would come out behind the Spaniard, instead of in front, where he actually should have been. However, it was definitely a good haul of points for the Briton.
Unlike in 2000, where the camera was to the side, in Silverstone, the camera was below the pedals and looked up at the underside of the pedals. Lando Norris acknowledged that the camera wasn’t particularly revealing or telling of how it was to operate the car, and especially so because Formula 1 cars have not had a clutch pedal for a very long time.
The current pedal cam setup makes Formula 1 driving look ‘simpler’, according to Norris
Talking to Motorsport, Norris felt that the view makes driving the car look ‘simpler’ especially as there is no clutch: “I think just because there’s not the clutch pedal in it, it’s always going to look a little bit more simple and straightforward.”
He added: “I think that’s a fact. Driving with the clutch and doing the heel and toe and all of that, I did that a lot in Ginetta in 2014. And you feel like there’s a lot more going on. And it’s really not an easy thing to do. But it’s also a lot of fun. Now, it is more simple. You’ve just got brake and throttle.”
Lando Norris does think that the current setup of the pedal camera view could be better and that perhaps instead of the back, it should be placed to the side of the pedals:
“I do feel like it should be the other way around. What you can see well now is like the displacement of the pedals, because it’s at a slight angle. So you can see how much maybe one pushes one of them and so on. From another way, of course, you would see the front, but then maybe you don’t see the displacement as well.”
But the cockpit only has so much space to place a camera in, and Norris acknowledges that fact: “I mean, I’m sure maybe there’s a slightly better position to be able to look at things. There’s just not a lot of room in there. So it’s not easy to mount, and so on. But maybe they if they put it a little bit even further around?”
Norris said that instead of the camera being at the back or the front, perhaps the best placement will be alongside it, to show the ‘displacements’ better, and said that it may be something that Formula 1 tries to do in the future.
Also Read: “Just kick it out for a while,” Lando Norris demands a ban on the “Fans” for their misconduct.
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