NAC: How F1 drivers drive

[Steve An <stevean@domain.elided>]

I thought this is interesting for us arm chair racers...

(Part 2 of 3 parts, the rest can be found at 
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines.html)

How driver style and set-up varies: Part two 07 Sep 2002

Renault's Pat Symonds, Michael Schumacher's engineer when he became 
champion in '94, says it is the German's smoothness that is the basis of 
his speed.

"He brakes and turns in very smoothly," he says. "He is off the brakes 
lightly and slowly. He turns the steering little by little, but can correct 
things very rapidly if they go wrong. Then he gets on the power early and 
slowly feeds it in, controlling it with the steering. His control is so 
sensitive I think he can feel what all four of the wheels are doing 
individually."

Comparisons have been made this year between the five-time champion and 
McLaren's new boy Kimi Raikkonen. Their style seems to defy traditional 
belief that there is either 'fast in/slow out' or 'slow in/fast out' and 
never the twain shall meet. In fact they have a style that can only be 
described as 'fast in/fast out'.

Raikkonen turns in a fraction early, reaches the inside of the track 
carrying the speed in, then manages the minutest of flicks to oversteer the 
car into the perfect trajectory for the exit. That way he is early on the 
power. Except it is not a slide and, somehow, miraculously he maintains the 
momentum. Team mate Coulthard takes a wider, more traditional line. He 
either brakes earlier or goes in deeper to scrub off the speed. Both cost 
time.

"You have to be very confident in yourself to be able to do that - it 
requires incredible car control," said former Indy lights champion Steve 
Robertson, who is also Raikkonen's manager. "Generally it is true to say 
that having an understeering car is the way most drivers prefer it. It's 
safer. But if you can do it, having slight oversteer is faster. But most 
drivers' couldn't live with it. I couldn't."



McLaren technical director Adrian Newey agreed: "I don't think anyone likes 
oversteer but the really good drivers cope with it better. It is that way 
with all the top drivers: Senna, Schumacher, Raikkonen."

The reasons are obvious: the punishment for a fractional miscalculation 
with oversteer is a rear end spin and a lot of time lost getting back on 
the track, while a touch too much understeer only results in the nose 
continuing to go straight on rather than turn the bend. The solution is 
simple: lift off the power. But with oversteer, lifting off the accelerator 
is not the solution. Quite the reverse. If you lift off you can lose the 
grip at the back and make the situation worse. The solution is to be found 
with the steering wheel.

"I don't think Kimi does that intentionally," said Button. "It is just that 
he sets up his car a little bit oversteery." The Renault driver believes 
all the analysis from those standing on the sidelines is phooey, but the 
in-cockpit television shots are a different matter.

"With in-car cameras you can see Michael looks really similar to Jarno, 
they are both smooth on entry but they are not in same car so it's 
difficult to compare. There are always going to be slight differences in 
the line drivers take unless they are in the same car. If there are 
different then, someone is going the wrong way."

There are exceptions. Takuma Sato shows incredible control, but has crashed 
frequently and were it not for his control it would almost certainly have 
been far more. "He's not learning," said one driver. "He's just on the 
ragged edge trying to control the car. He's all over the place and can't 
possibly be learning anything. He's too ragged."

"Overdriving is a common problem," says Symonds. "Paradoxically some 
drivers would go faster if they slowed a little." But the basic laws of 
physics apply. "The closer you are to that verge of instability the quicker 
you can make the car go," he adds. Oversteer takes you right to the edge of 
the precipice, understeer gives you a margin for error.

Check back soon for the third and final part of this feature.
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided