First details of Formula 1's 2018 TV shake-up revealed

Former Fox Sports president David Hill was drafted in late last year to oversee a change to the way F1 is broadcast.

Although there has not yet been any official announcement about F1 owner Liberty Media's plans to improve the TV show, commercial chief Sean Bratches promised it would "totally revitalise the way F1 is produced".

Asked by Autosport about the TV plans for 2018, Bratches said: "We are going to close the apertures, focus intently on the racing, and lower the [positioning of the] cameras - because the lower the camera the higher the realism of the speed is.

"We will also have 25 spotters around each grand prix to call back to race control and tell them where overtaking is about to take place.

"From a graphics standpoint we will have a brand-new package - putting them in a local language and also putting 'mph' in countries that use miles per hour."

It is understood that other ideas being looked at are improving the sound of engines through a new position of on-board microphones, use of music in the race broadcasts and more regular use of a highlights reel to showcase dramatic moments.

Liberty has already confirmed that race start times are being shifted to help television broadcasts, with European grands prix now starting at 3.10pm to help broadcasters who only begin their show on the hour.

Bratches said a new marketing campaign, website, eSports platform and "four fan festivals" would complement upgraded luxury initiatives like hot laps and the Paddock Club.

He also revealed F1 had settled on the countries that would get access to F1's new streaming service that was being made available.

"We are going to launch in USA, Latin America other than Brazil, Germany, France and a number of other Nordic countries," he said.

"It's been a very complicated proposition. With the media rights agreements we had this year, previously none of them would have permitted us to do that.

"But we have managed to come to terms in many of the territories, and we think we have done so in a win-win way."

Bratches said Liberty was working with the TV companies to also ensure that the coverage was such that it would attract - rather than put off - casual fans who were watching F1 for the first time.

"We have this fictitious idea of a 22-year-old person, who is not an F1 fan but who has a friend who is an avid fan and tells him to watch [a race]," explained Bratches.

"So when that person tunes in, we want them to understand what is going on.

"Ross Brawn, who is one of the legends of the sport, said he would come into the middle of a GP during his three-year retirement and not even know what was going on.

"So, we are trying to make it simpler to help convey what is happening."