I too think you have a good point. It isn't straight away obvious; sometimes the camera can be inaccurate, or maybe that should be not accurate enough. Other sports have similar situations where they have reviews of key moments. TMO in rugby, tennis line calls and perhaps most similar cricket referrals where information other than the television view is used. The difference is you don't stop the race to look at it in F1, or you might even review afterwards!
Then you have the aspect that some people can't or don't want to understanding something. I'm afraid I'm of the view that these fans be ignored. Except they are he majority of fans.
The solution of a sensor measurement, or using the real data trace is the best one here. The fans and Vettel need to put a little effort into considering the whys and wherefores. And as chillibowl says if it was the other way round there would probably an equal level of annoyance.
Inherently this sport isn't simple. It requires a bit of effort from the viewer. That means it might not ever grab the biggest audience, but as you say it relies on viewer numbers to attract the manufacturers and sponsors.
I'm surprised it ever got this popular. In someways I lament that. The problem is that they have pushed for it to be popular (for obvious and maybe worthwhile reasons) and to get that you have to sacrifice something. You also introduce these kind of conundrums.
Don't get me wrong, I'm for the sport to be inclusive, but not to pander to the lowest common denominator. That wouldn't be fair to those who put the effort in.
Crikey, that got a bit OTT
