At first, I had no idea where to start. The initial version of the app was just a static SVG of the track and a bunch of placeholder dots. But I quickly realized that turning this into something dynamic and precise was going to require a lot more work—both technically and creatively.
One of the hardest parts was figuring out how to map GPS or telemetry-like data (or simulated equivalents) to the actual layout of the track. Circuits aren’t perfect circles or squares—they’re highly irregular, and getting the math right to interpolate positions smoothly along the path took a lot of iteration.
Once I had the basic movement working, I ran into performance issues. Updating 20+ driver positions every second, animating them smoothly, and not killing the battery or CPU on an iPhone took careful optimization, especially when combined with UI features like zooming, rotating, or switching to other parts of the app.
From there, the app grew: I added race results, driver and team info, standings, and more. But the live circuit map remains the heart of it—a tiny simulation of the race, in your pocket.
I learned a lot building this, from low-level animation tricks to dealing with refresh rates and background tasks on iOS. If you’re curious, you can check it out here