Great thread!
You really see a difference starting from 2009. I've always thought the cars looked different on-board since then, but I never really noticed the difference in the screen. After seeing the comparison between the cameras between 98-13, it's obvious the lenses make a big difference!
I think it would be nice if F1 would experiment more with new types of on-board shots/cameras/. The broadcasting could really improve with it and in recent years the technology has evolved a lot. The thermal cameras e.g. are amazing.
Something different I'm quite curious about is the
http://www.oculus.com/. It's going to be a completely new experience for simracing e.g, but I was also wondering what it would be like to watch an onboard F1 race with the Occulus...