Anyone Else Think They'd Struggle To Remember Which Switch Did What...

[peterg]

This is a Lotus wheel from last season, in addition to all these switches, it apparently has EIGHT paddles on the back it's all I can do to remember where the horn button is on my Skoda's wheel

[Norman Verona]

With some dedicated training - YES.

Well maybe when I was 21, not now.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

To paraphrase - "that thread"

Looks like someone sneezed with a gob full of smarties.

[peterg]

Thing is, with some practice you could meybe work out where they were but at up to 200mph, whilst tussling for a podium position, in the rain, with the pits talking to you..... sod that, take me back to the 70s and 80s when steering wheels did just that single function

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

It was quite odd seeing that clip someone posted the other day, - with the low mounted cockpit camera, seeing his hand drop to the gear lever every so often! No flappy paddle nonsense.

[Nick Algar - Competition Secretary]

It's a good job they have got the mechanics in the pits to come on the radio and tell them what to do :d

Loved it when Smedley was giving Massa some driving "suggestions" at Silverstone GP, it really is a team effort to do well these days

[jeff oakley]

It is interesting but also to me it sums up what is wrong with F1. They are undoubtedly talented and the technology is astounding but there is so much between the driver and the car where as they used to be a direct link of wheel, hand foot pedal. It has taken away some of the skill and some of this must flatter a mediocre driver, who no doubt is better than me, but still mediocre in the arena they are in.

[ajpearson]

Is that for sale on PH ?

[Meakin]

Would it pass the IVA?

[peterg]

Is that for sale on PH ?

Hahahaha....no, it's from a feature about some lucky winners who spent a day with Caterham F1 at the Brit GP

[Norman Verona]

Just showed it to HM.

She says "no problem", if you can touch type then it would be easy.

[rocket_rabbit]

I don't think it's too bad to be honest.

Anyone who is familiar with an Xbox controller is already most of the way there (it has 10 buttons on it and two analogue sticks).

I can see most people being comfortable with it within an hour.

[Pistol Pete]

There was a TV interview with Hamilton and little while back, he talked about taking the new steering wheel away and put in a bag and learnt every button by feel so he didn't have to look at anything when driving. Which along with the xbox analogy sounds doable.

[kevip6]

It is interesting but also to me it sums up what is wrong with F1. They are undoubtedly talented and the technology is astounding but there is so much between the driver and the car where as they used to be a direct link of wheel, hand foot pedal. It has taken away some of the skill and some of this must flatter a mediocre driver, who no doubt is better than me, but still mediocre in the arena they are in.

I'm not sure ( and I'm happy to be wrong on this ) that much of the technology makes it "easier" to drive the cars? It just allows the driver to control certain mechanical parts of the car throughout the race. Adjusting engine setting to either preserve fuel/engine wear or to make it more aggressive to attack for position. Adjusting differential settings, brake balance, etc... Might make the car drive better through different parts of a circuit but is it really easier to havd to be changing all these things to stay competitive? I would argue its easier to drive a car that you just steer, accelerate, brake rather than constantly be changing settings just to make sure you keep all those 1/10th secs