Ferrari spying on Mercedes: what's new?
Some media have recently picked up on obvious spying from Ferrari towards other teams, seemingly surprised that this happens in the sport. In reality however, it's "normal".
Freelance photographer Miquel Liso caused a little stir when he found a woman dressed in Ferrari clothing to spy on Mercedes AMG's pit box during the most recent Abu Dhabi test of November 25 and 26.
Could someone explain me what was this girl @ScuderiaFerrari doing above box of @MercedesAMGF1 with a termic camera? pic.twitter.com/IvMNaK9Pok
— MIQUEL LISO (@miquelliso) November 26, 2014
The images show her filming the Mercedes AMG W05 driving through the pitlane and stopping with their pit crew. Details about the camera later revealed that this was infrared footage, allowing the recorder - or Ferrari in this matter - to analyze how hot the tyres, bodywork or exhaust are when the car drivers through the pitlane. Perhaps even more interesting is the speed of heat buildup when the car stops.
Camara termica InfREC R300. @EstelRamoneda Thanks por la info de la camara!! pic.twitter.com/wTMSb9EvKC
— MIQUEL LISO (@miquelliso) November 26, 2014
Generally speaking, spying in Formula One is nothing new at all. While team try their best to protect their cars from public eye when in the pitlane, each of them hires photographers, either external or internal member of the team to sneak up on the details of others to try to learn from what others are doing.
Other than photography, and particularly during testing, foreign team members are often seen strolling through the pitlane, hoping to see something that can help their own teams. People with directional microphones are nothing new either as teams want to determine the exact maximum engine revs or turbo effects from the engine's noise in an attempt to analyse power output and energy management used on other engines.
All these 'dirty' tactics are probably part of the sport since its very beginning, while the availability of live GPS data has furthermore enabled teams to identify precisely which car is fastest in which type of corner.
Essentially, it's common knowledge, but doing it this obvious is rarely appreciated. It should therefore not come as a surprise that a Mercedes team member went up into the stands quickly to ask the woman to stop recording.
