
Viewed from an angle slightly above and behind the rear wing, the video offered a unique perspective of an F1 car reaching its limits in the streets of Monte Carlo.
As Alesi shot through the iconic curves and shot through the tunnel, the feeling of speed, accompanied by the sound of the 3-liter flat engine 12, demonstrated the magic of a racing car in a fresh way.
In fact, the point of view was so varied that it almost didn’t seem real and actually looked more like a sim racing game from a third person perspective.
As the Alesi footage spread rapidly across the internet, many questions have been raised about how it was pulled and whether computer tricks were used. Autosport tracked down the idea behind the project for the inside story of what happened.
The man behind it is Monaco-based video producer Lucas Brito, who runs a 3D technology video company called Virtual Reality International.
The more regular work revolves around virtual tours of luxury homes, yachts and businesses and has worked with major international clients such as Heineken, Hermes and the Automobile Club of Monaco.
ACM work resulted in a contract to produce videos for Monaco’s motorsport events that year. Motorsport is no stranger to Brito. His father, Jayme, is a well-known figure in F1 television circles.
Lucas Brito
Photo by: Lucas Brito
After seeing some footage from 360 cameras mounted on street cars, Brito provided a similar angle and considered trying it out on an F1 car.
After talking to the Monaco bosses, he proposed the idea, but reckoned logistical complications would make it impossible to pull through. It was given the green light just over two weeks before the historic Monaco event.
“At that moment I thought, ‘Wow, this is really happening,'” explained Brito. “I had to do my research, order all of the parts, and hope they would arrive on time. It was pretty stressful. “
The camera used for the Alesi video was an Insta360 action camera and was attached to the Ferrari rear wing with a mounting rod.
The clever technology means that the stick is not visible because it is hidden in the blind spot of a camera between the lenses. If you look closely at the Alesi footage, you can see the camera and stay in the shadow it casts on the ground.
Jean Alesi, 1974 Ferrari 312 B3
Photo by: Lucas Brito
The biggest challenge for Brito was making sure the attachment between the camera stick and the Ferrari rear wing was strong enough.
He couldn’t damage the precious car or risk the camera coming loose at 150 miles per hour and flying into the countryside.
“To be honest, there was a lot of uncertainty about whether it was strong enough that the attachment to the rear wing was pretty strong,” he said.
“I used a fairly large, heavy duty suction cup, along with a lot of silver tape. I wanted to make sure no air got under the suction cup.
“I wasn’t able to test the setup over 100 km / h beforehand. I had done a test with it where I ran out of a Bentley Continental on some roads here in France and crossed a few bumps. Then held it tight! “
The other challenge was the roaring Ferrari engine, which was so loud it overloaded the Insta360’s microphones. A bespoke separate microphone had to be placed near the exhaust systems.
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Brito only had one opportunity to shoot the video. The Monaco organizers had agreed a special track time for demonstration laps, in which Alesi and Rene Arnoux were involved in their two Ferraris, in order to capture different perspectives.
“I didn’t know if the mounts would definitely hold, and another complication came when the training session was delayed before our run – the cameras ran an unplanned extra 20 minutes,” he revealed.
“Then it was the first laps for the drivers this weekend. So if they made a mistake, the chances are high that the cameras would have been hit against the wall. “
Rene Arnoux, Ferrari
Photo by: Lucas Brito
In the end, the run went smoothly. The rear view camera remained intact (he had checked that it was still present in the pits after Alesi’s first lap of flight), and when Alesis Ferrari got back the footage was as good as he had hoped.
“I was surprised at how good everything looked,” said Brito. “The stabilization was great because the car vibrated a lot. And I was also lucky with the angle of the wing because it hides the suction cup perfectly. You can’t see
“When the car was back I immediately showed Jean and Rene the footage and they were blown away for 15 seconds – before they went into F1 driver mode and started analyzing the vehicle’s balance and performance!”
Perhaps the biggest surprise for Brito was the reception the footage received from fans. The video generated a great response on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
“I knew it would make a bit of noise because it had never been seen on an F1 car before, but I was definitely surprised at how positive the reaction was.”
The success of the Alesi video has sparked obvious conversations that it is something that F1 could see for itself.
However, the technical setup of a physical camera and assembly stick means that providing such an angle for a current Grand Prix car in live action remains a dream for the time being.
However, the Alesi Monaco footage highlighted that if technology allows, camera angles remain for racing cars that are not used regularly and have not yet been fully used.
Brito added, “Of course you can’t put a big stick or camera on the back of an F1 car in a race. But if there is some magical technology in 20 years’ time that will allow us to show that angle, then it would definitely be of interest.
“You can see a lot more of the car and get a better sense of speed than with conventional recordings.”
The views on the Alesi video seem to show that F1 fans would really love it.
Jean Alesi, 1974 Ferrari 312 B3
Photo by: Lucas Brito
The post The inside story of the epic Alesi Ferrari F1 Monaco video first appeared on monter-une-startup.