Formula 1 Telemetry Visualizer
Installation project visualizing Formula 1 game telemetry, with an eye on real-world application
Tech Stack
Engine
Creative
Tools
Formula 1 Telemetry Visualizer
An installation project built around telemetry data from the official Formula 1 game series (F1 2021 and F1 2023). It began in TouchDesigner and later moved into Unreal Engine 5, with the long-term vision of applying the same approach to real-world race telemetry for AR and VR experiences.
Overview
The official Formula 1 game series streams car telemetry data over LAN via UDP. Using a UDP DAT inside TouchDesigner, I extracted position, tire states, and car details to render them in real time.
Below is a demo of the visualization in TouchDesigner:
- Top left: live game footage
- Top right: front wheel angle and tire temperatures (blue = cool, red = hot)
- Bottom left: carās world location with a dynamic trail of up to 1800 points
- Bottom right: raw telemetry data for debugging and inspection
The panels are part of the video edit, not the actual installation layout.
The project later expanded into Unreal Engine 5, where multiple cars and track geometry could be visualized in 3D. The long-term vision is to move beyond the game and render live race data in real time, even placing it on a coffee table via AR.
Why I Built It
As a Formula 1 fan who first got hooked after watching Drive to Survive, I wanted to explore how telemetry data could be turned into engaging visual storytelling. The official game provided the perfect entry point, since it streams telemetry in real time.
The bigger idea is to use the same techniques for real-world races, where fans could see tire heat maps, car positions, and performance metrics in ways that go far beyond a TV broadcast.
Evolution
- Version 1: Installation built in TouchDesigner, visualizing live telemetry from F1 2021 and F1 2023
- Version 2: Proof of concept in Unreal Engine 5, including extracted 3D tracks and cars, which sparked the idea of extending the project into AR and VR
- Future: Apply the pipeline to live Formula 1 race telemetry for immersive fan experiences
What I Built
- UDP pipeline to parse real-time telemetry packets
- TouchDesigner installation showing wheel angles, tire temperatures, trails, and raw data
- Extraction of the Montreal Formula 1 circuit model, scaled in Blender and imported into Unreal Engine to serve as a track for telemetry-driven cars
- Unreal Engine 5 prototype rendering multiple cars on the imported track
- A workflow to move from real-time 2D visualizations into 3D and AR/VR storytelling
Tools Behind the Scenes
- TouchDesigner for real-time visualization
- Unreal Engine 5 for 3D car and track rendering
- Blender for splitting models and scaling the Montreal track
- 3D extraction workflow (Google Earth prototyping) for early circuit geometry tests
- UDP telemetry stream from the Formula 1 game series
What I Learned
- Decoding telemetry data: How to unpack Codemastersā binary UDP packets in TouchDesigner using Python and convert raw bytes into values like position, wheel speed, and tire temperatures
- Building responsive visuals: Creating a system that could handle high-frequency updates smoothly, such as limiting trail history to 1800 points for performance
- Turning data into expression: Mapping telemetry values into visuals, like using color ramps to represent tire heat or transforms to show wheel angles
- Preparing assets for animation: Using Blender to split models into independent components and scale track geometry so they could be animated and navigated realistically in Unreal Engine
- Extracting 3D environments: Experimented with pulling track geometry from Google Earth to prototype the Montreal circuit, then refining it in Blender before importing into Unreal. For any real deployment, licensed or original 3D assets would be required.
- Creative problem solving: This project was driven by a vision of seeing live races differently, and the most rewarding part was figuring out how to technically realize that vision
Takeaway
This installation demonstrated how raw telemetry can become an expressive, real-time visual experience and opened the door to applying the same ideas to live Formula 1 race data for future AR and VR fan experiences.
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