Show HN: Undercutf1 – F1 Live Timing TUI with Driver Tracker, Variable Delay
I started to build undercutf1 almost two years ago, after becoming increasingly frustrated with the TV direction and lack of detailed information coming out of the live feed. Overtakes were often missed and strategies were often ill-explained or missed. I discovered that F1 live timing data is available over a simple SignalR stream, so I set out building an app that would let me see all the information I could dream of. Now undercutf1 serves as the perfect companion (like a second Martin Brundle) when I'm watching the sessions live.
If you want to test it out, you replay the Suzuka race easily by downloading the timing data, then starting a simulated session:
1. Download undercutf1 using the installation instructions in the README.
2. Import the Suzuka race session data using `undercutf1 import 2025 -m 1256 -s 10006`.
3. Start the app (`undercutf1`) then press S (Session) then F (Simulated Session), then select Suzuka then Race using the arrow keys, then press Enter.
4. Use arrow keys to navigate between the timing pages, and use N / Shift+N to fast-forward through the session.
If you want to test it out during this weekends Jeddah GP, simply install as in the README then start a live session by pressing S (Session) then L (Live Session).
The app is built for a terminal of roughly 110x30 cells, which probably seems an odd size but just so happens to be the size of a fullscreen terminal on a MBP zoomed in far enough that the text is easily glanceable when the laptop is placed on a coffee table some distance away from me :) Other terminal sizes will work fine, but information density/scaling may not be ideal.
If you're using the TUI during a live session, you'll want to synchronise the delay of the timing feed to your TV feed. Use the N/M keys to increase/decrease the delay. During non-race session, I find it fairly easy to sync the session clock on TV with the session clock on the bottom left of the timing screen. For race sessions, synchronisation is a little harder. I usually aim to sync the start of the race time (e.g. 13:00 on the timing screen clock) with the start of the formation lap, where the live feed helpfully shows the clock tick over to 0 minutes. I usually delay the feed by 30 to 60 seconds.
TUI gets you straight to the point, no ads, etc. So the teletext format is now outliving TVs and people read the teletext pages on their mobile phones (via we of dedicated apps)
https://yle.fi/aihe/tekstitv?P=207
Your chances are slim, or mahdollisuutesi ovat niukat.
If you weren't already aware of it, check out the #f1 community on libera.
I'm curious where the live/static data is coming from and how freely available it is. Most sports are very protective of their data rights in the betting era (I know of one guy who spends six figures on tennis data a year - and yes, he makes a profit from it), so I'm wondering if/how F1 sees all this.
Regardless, I think this is absolutely marvellous, and can see this becoming my second/third screen while sat on the sofa enjoying the races live. Thanks, and if I can find a way to contribute/give back, I will.
There's also static API endpoints which contain .json and .jsonStream files after a session ends, so you can process all the data and run some analytics on it.
I assume they don't mind too much about the usage - on the basis that some of these projects have existed for quite a while. I'm pretty sure everything who performs F1 analysis (like journalists, YouTubers etc) with charts and the like and getting their data via these feeds (either directly or via packages like FastF1.
If you want to learn more about the implementation itself, I'd recommend checking out the DataImporter.cs and LiveTimingClient.cs files in the UndercutF1.Data project of the repo. Although fair warning, my codes not that beautiful :).
> Tyre Strategy page
Nice, I'll be able to see how Ferrari have fumbled strategy for their drivers.
Usually downloading the app as a dotnet tool doesn't get flagged as a virus, but it seems this isn't always the case.
Unfortunately I don't handle lapped drivers very well, once they're lapped much of the gap related stuff stops working for them. Thankfully the last year or so the field has been close enough where that's not too much of an issue.
I was hoping to test it out during the session currently going on :)
Thanks! This is awesome work and I'm looking forward to tomorrow with much excitement.
However, I'd appreciate an easier way to run it: binaries for Linux aren't standalone -- they require 3rd party dependencies to be installed. Static binaries (or maybe container image?) would be nice.
As noted in https://github.com/JustAman62/undercut-f1/issues/3#issuecomm..., I think there's still more work to do to make the single-file executable work properly on Linux, due to the intricacies of the native Skia libs.
Currently the delay is designed for a minute or two's worth of delay for a live TV feed, or for replaying old sessions. I don't currently have a good way to support a long delay during a live session, without you starting the app before the session starts, and applying the 25 minute delay immediately so that all the data is queued up to be displayed in 25 minutes time.
After a session is finished, F1 do upload json and jsonStream static files which you can download - checkout the DataImporter class to see how this is done (this is what powers the undercutf1 import` command)
It has a Live Timing Client and a lot of historical data.
I only found it the other day, so I have no had a chance to play with it yet.
I also suspect that the trying to monetize a project like this would not sit well with the FIA, if you had any kind of traction.
I've been using F1 Multiviewer which is free but the metadata and video feeds require an F1TV subscription which I have because I usually prefer the F1TV announcers. With F1 there's only one main broadcast video feed produced for on-track racing and it's mixed raw with no announcers. Then F1TV and various national TV networks add their own announcers downstream. In the US F1 is broadcast by ESPN who use the Sky TV announcers from the UK. F1TV, which is owned by F1, also produce their own separate announcer audio in English and offer it through online streaming along with a metadata feed - both live and for later replay. Metadata and video feeds are also available through other licensed outlets - and, of course, various unofficial, unlicensed sources.
F1 Multiviewer is a community created, fan supported app which only works with the F1TV video and metadata feeds via the official API (hence the need for an F1TV subscription). It has a bunch of different configurable data screens which are graphically well-presented. It's possible to create and save complex multi-screen views showing various data screens along with simultaneous in-car views from multiple drivers. https://multiviewer.app/showcase
It seems like a little timing variability is endemic to the F1 metadata feeds, even if just playing back after the race. Although the timing is close enough to be okay, the Multiviewer team regularly pushes updates trying to get it closer. I like to watch the main race video feed on my home theater projector screen while running Multiviewer on my laptop. So my main video source is the F1TV app on an Android streaming stick or the ESPN broadcast recording running on Comcast DVR but I use F1 Multiviewer on my laptop to view metadata, track map and a couple on-board cameras.
By manually adjusting, I can usually get Multiviewer on my laptop to sync up with the pre-recorded video stream playback on the TV to within about 5-ish seconds. I start with the main video feed in Multiviewer and use that to sync up with my recorded broadcast feed. Once the two main video feeds are synced, I use the Multiviewer command to sync all its windows to the main feed, and then minimize the main feed in Multiviewer. It works but is a bit fiddly, as just starting the feeds at the same time only gets me in the ballpark with the F1TV app or broadcast recording (usually within 30 secs). Then I do a back-and-forth cycle of skipping or pausing one or the other to sync it up, which takes maybe a minute. Fortunately, once in sync it doesn't seem to drift more than a few seconds over the course of a race which is good enough for me. The only annoying part is the bit of extra effort when pausing or rewinding to maintain sync on two different devices. I think people who just use Multiviewer on one device for all their feeds probably have it easier.
As the OP noted, once you understand F1 racing more than a casual viewer, seeing the timing gaps, track map, current tire, pit stop counts, etc becomes crucial to following the strategic chess match unfolding between teams. Unfortunately, due to screen space, the main broadcast graphics only show one of these data graphics at a time - and, too often, they are showing the wrong data vs what's happening at the moment on-track - or even what the announcers are saying since the video feed is produced separately from the announcers. To be fair, broadcasting an F1 race in real-time, is probably the single hardest regular live sports event to produce (and I know a fair bit about live sports broadcast production). With 20 cars and a couple dozen separate corners spread over a few miles, it's more akin to trying to show a half-dozen live NFL games simultaneously while never missing a key play. And, unlike most sports, once a race starts there are no commercial breaks or regularly scheduled timeouts for replays.
The F1 television production is quite spectacular for what they manage to do, like streaming 20 simultaneous HD video feeds from two (or more) onboard cameras from cars traveling up to 200 mph while twisting through dense urban environments. Just the RF engineering required to do that in one of 24 different cities around the world almost weekly makes it wildly impressive that it (usually) works pretty well. However, it's still maddening when it fails or isn't showing the relevant graphics, making some kind of over-the-top metadata with customizable display pretty essential for serious fans. Which may be somewhat unique to motorsports since a serious fan can enjoy an NFL game, basketball game or even chess match without a real-time, synced metadata feed beyond the usual broadcast graphics.
Love that it is realtime as well.
Great work on this.
Sixel on the other hand seems like an alien protocol whose implementation daunts me - think it'll be a while before I tackle that one.