31/03/2015
NEWS STORY
In the days leading up to the season opening Australian Grand Prix fans were taking to social media asking when the 2015 version of the official F1 app would be made available.
The 2014 version had continued during pre-season testing - for news updates and video reports, not timing - whilst all team, race and driver data still referred to the previous season.
When it finally did became available on 11 March, around 48 hours before the opening practice session in Melbourne, the initial reaction was to the cost. Whilst it sold for £7.49 last year, this year the price had more than doubled, increased by 166.8% in fact, to £19.99.
At this stage we should point out that last year we were informed by a source that FOM (Formula One Management) had taken exception to an article we had written about the app. Although we never actually heard anything officially or unofficially from FOM themselves, we were told of the possibility of "legal action", that they intended to "shut us down".
And to think some have said Pitpass is in Bernie Ecclestone's pocket.
However, if the F1 app was late in being released what of the promised re-vamp of the official website which, we were told by Marissa Pace, Formula One Management's Digital Media Manager, last year, was being rebuilt in-line with the sport's new move towards social media, even if Bernie Ecclestone thinks Twitter a waste of time.
In fact, the new look website didn't appear until hours - yes hours - before the opening session in Melbourne, giving fans little time to register, far less give their credit card details in order to get the upgraded timing service for "free".
Yes, you read that right.
The website, like the app, will offer two tiers of service. There is the free version, which will provide the sort of ‘data’ witnessed in 2014, dots instead of actual times in each sector, the most basic of information; and the paid for which will offer just about everything... a full bells and whistle service.
Sadly, the app and the website are not linked at this time, therefore though you might have paid your £19.99 for the app, you will still need to register for the website and give your card details if you want the full (bells and whistles) service.
Whilst the excellent App Support Team on Twitter assures fans that "in April" the two will be linked, which means subscribers will have a common log-in, at present the two are not. Indeed, to make matters worse, in our esteemed editor's case despite having paid £19.99 for the app, £2.29 was also taken from his bank account for the website. Though this was subsequently refunded.
For the first month, which should cover the first three races, the full (bells and whistles) service is available free on the website - providing you've registered - but after that you must either pay (monthly or annually) or resort to the basic (coloured dots) service.
Of course, "free" and "F1" are not words that you usually hear in the same breath, and one can imagine Bernie - in full Mr Burns mode - shouting "release the hounds" when the suggestion was made.
With an eye on FOM's reaction to last year's article, we will reign in our comments on the 2015 app, other than to say that, thus far, not one of the ten sessions (FP1, FP2, FP3, qualifying and GP) has passed without a problem.
A search on twitter will reveal some of the many issues encountered at the season opener, purchasers being told to uninstall and reinstall mid-session, whilst over the Malaysia weekend things got even sillier.
At one stage both the web timing and app, in amongst Hamilton, Rosberg and the rest, showed two Medical Cars and one Safety Car... with their 'race numbers' - and they were leading... great news for Alan van der Merwe and Bernd Maylander... if not for us staring at our tablets, monitors and phones in utter bemusement.
In a later session a number of new names appeared including K Othman, N Tham and S Ali, and a couple of instances where two unheard of drivers were sharing the same car. Then there was Romain Grosjean averaging 790 km/h in S1 during FP3.
Fact is, this app only needs to work for 5 sessions for 19 weekends a year, and despite the assurances of the excellent App Support Team that all the bugs will be sorted out "soon", we remain unconvinced. Based on the experience thus far it is simply not reliable and the info provided cannot be trusted.
With that in mind, don't be surprised to see the beautiful and talented Taylor Swift leading the Grand Prix in China next month, Usain Bolt posting fastest lap, Walter White following Sebastian Vettel's example and knocking on the door that is Mercedes dominance and maybe even the Shanghai Taxi Service to make an appearance.
Should that happen, you can always follow IT Crowd Roy’s advice and try switching your device off and on again.
Update We are now informed that the merger between the F1 app and the premium service on the F1 website will be "around 10 May". That's 5 races in to a 19 race schedule and day of the Spanish Grand Prix... what could possibly go wrong?