Mirror, mirror on the sidepod...

I think camera's are still a few years off. The onboard cameras still breakup and cut out occasionally, which would be unacceptable for a driver relying on that image..
I believe the problem with the in car footage is to do with the transmission to the FOM receivers due to interference from structures and artifices around the track. The topography of a circuit, bridges, and the like can all cause dead spots for the signals. A hard-wired system within the car should be achievable with current technology and indeed some supercars such as the Zonda have these on the road.
 
They wouldn't be able to have a beeping systems for proximity sensors as they already have a beeping system for when to change gear.

To be honest I don't think anything will be done about it. Teams will always try to seat their driver as low as possible in the car and unless a serious accident occurred specifically because a driver couldn't see another I don't think the FIA will change anything.
I don't see why not, most humans can tell one tone from another, especially if they are a couple of octaves apart..

Anyway, they can't vibrate that much off the start line and Vettel still "didn't see" Button beside him..:p
 
For years the design of F1 cars threatened injury or death to the driver as chassis and aero parts were made lighter and less robust. My concern with the current designs, where the driver plays peek-a-boo over the steering wheel, is that it threatens injury or death not to the driver in the car but to one of the other competitors who they can't see properly.

F1 has made a lot of changes to improve safety, is it time for a review of where and how the driver sits and what he can and can't see?
Massa sits lower in the car than most.A couple of centimetres higher and that spring may well have gone right through his visor and killied him.
massa.jpg
 
Here’s a clip from an eye-level helmet cam of Lucas Di Grassi doing a Pirelli test. It’s interesting to see how much a driver can actually see of his mirrors, though obviously different drivers in different cars will have different viewpoints.
Quote from Di Grassi:" I had to drive with only one eye open as the camera was blocking my other eye, quite tricky.”


On a side note, as Hamilton reportedly sits lower in his car than other drivers I did some research and apparently this video of the Mercedes in pre-season shows Hamilton’s viewpoint at 1:24…;)

 
Here’s a clip from an eye-level helmet cam of Lucas Di Grassi doing a Pirelli test. It’s interesting to see how much a driver can actually see of his mirrors, though obviously different drivers in different cars will have different viewpoints.
Quote from Di Grassi:" I had to drive with only one eye open as the camera was blocking my other eye, quite tricky.”
Cool vid, but doesn't look like his mirrors are pointing anywhere useful - less important I guess on a test where you don't have competitors driving at your back wheels...
 
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