Danner says modern F1 cars are a walk in the park

The latest issue of "motorsport aktuell" has a fascinating report by former F1 pilot Danner: He arranged to drive a 2006 Super Aguri at Silverstone in January. Suzuki and Brundle also drove the car and they all compared notes with their former experiences as F1 drivers. Here a few of his comments:

- first off he felt incredibly comfortable in the seating position, he said he had to endure a lot less pain than in his Rial or Zakspeed
- the paddle shifters make a wrong shift impossible, no skills needed and faster and more precise than anything else, he says even faster and better than any other current race car with paddle shift
- acceleration is absolutely flawless, fly by wire lets you plant the right foot, no need to lift other than for breaking
- traction control and stability software control everything, any mistake is taken care of automatically, the 700 hp are easy to control compared to the 1,000 hp of the turbo era
- no dancing on the pedals, just left brake

Danner is trying really hard not to take away credit from todays drivers abilities, but you can read his sentiments between the lines. He states that now he understand how easy it got for F3 drivers to adjust to F1. The cars are faster and brake harder, but the electronics give you plenty of cushion to adapt.

He also states you need different skills: He states that all his body sensors became mostly useless. Instead one needs now a deep technical understanding on how to change the setup also while driving, something we often saw MS do between turns to get the max out of the car.

For me this article was a bit of an eye opener. You still need to be a super human driver to win otherwise somebody like MS would not have collected 7 titles, but it would be a different winner every time. But it also takes away a bit from the wunderkinder coming into F1. I start to understand now why Vettel was able to set fastest lap first time in a F1. Talented, for sure. Electronic helpers, you bet.

ITV will air a special of this test session before the Silverstone GP. I just hope somebody will put that on youtube or Speed TV will air it later on too.

 

I think they are easier to drive, but the limit of the good vs. the really good drivers is now down to less than .5 sec a lap. More racers can drive these, but like you said to find the limit, it takes another kind of skill as opposed to the good old days.

 

I would say very true.
Also a large differance would be in the starts. When was the last time a major shunt was caused by a smoked clutch on the grid ? There used to be a skill involved launcing one of these. Now...floor it.

 

Kind of hard to imagine "modern" and "Super Aguri" in the same sentence.

 

Well at least the Honda part is, don't know about the "Super" in Super Aguri.

 

Agree.
And you have to be super fit.

 

Tell us how you REALLY feel about MS... LOL

 

I feel about his 7 titles the same way I feel about any WC: They won the title for a reason. There is no such thing a "luckying into " a title. You luck into a win, but don't win an entire season by luck. Let alone multiple titles.

Anyway, I'm a bit surprised/disappointed not more folks commented on this story. I thought it was earth shattering and was happy that finally somebody had the good sense to check into this. It was particularly surprising to me because the last time a driver from the older generation tried this (Lauda), he failed miserably (spun out instantly).

 

+1

 

i think it just depends on the driver. tiff (from fifth gear) went and drove a sauber bmw. and he said it was pretty tough. i tried looking for the episode on you tube but couldnt find it

 

I liked the interview with Jeff Gordon after driving an F1 car. He said he was exhausted after just a few laps and wasn't in the physical shape needed to handle multiple multi-G turns, and he pointed at Massa and said "look at Massa's neck!"

 

Indeed I was thinking of the "Trading Paint" show myself. I think comparisons like these tell you an amazing amount of information. Whether it is a comparison between different race cars or between cars of a different era.

That's why I'm so hoping I'll find this show eventually on TV.

 

You thought it was earth shattering? It's been that way for over 5 years now.

 

So far we only suspected it to be like that, but AFAIK nobody ever tested that theory. Or actually the one who did a test (Lauda), failed at it.

 

Tazio & Fangio probably think these new guys are pole smokers

 

My bad I guess. I just assumed everyone knew.

 

I agree with Danner, but you must be in very good physical and also mental condition to drive an actual F1-car. But 20 years ago, the drivers were not always in good conditions, and the tracks and the cars were very unsafe compared to actual cars and tracks.
I saw a short special about this test session on german TV, some weeks ago.

 

Yeah, that was the time when sex was safe and motor racing dangerous; it's the other way round now!

 

+1, I was thinking the same thing. Nothing new here since the advent of the paddle shifters. Throw in a few servos and a map of the track and the cars can drive themselves, lol.

 

haha...nice way of putting it

 

If a great driver like Lauda failed it's obviously not as easy as you are suggesting!

 

When a Professional Driver states its "easy"(which happens abit) to drive a modern F1 car that really doesnt mean much to me, it is not like he is driving 125cc go-karts and then given the keys to an F1 car, he usually progresses up the ladder of cars he already knows how to drive fast and consistent, its not like he is learning how to drive a car again, he is applying his already vast amount of experience to driving "another" car. Danner was racing 650bhp GP Masters cars recently its not like he went in cold from 15yrs not racing.

Ofcourse 15yrs~ of technology means the cars are easier to drive from the previous generations you dont need to be a rocket scientist to work that one out. But that does not mean an F1 car is "easy" to drive.

The true test if a F1 car is easy would be giving some random(que 99% of this forum) was given the keys to an F1 car who's only previous experience was a road-car and s/he came out and said. "Hey this F1 car is easy to drive, check it out im only 0.5s behind Alonso/Massa times" and ofcourse be consistent for 80laps ~ then and only then would I consider F1 to be "easy".

 

It would seem to me that the physical demands have changed. Modern F1 cars are probably much easier to reach 9/10 in than their predecessors. But to be competitive you have to race them at 10/10. In earlier years the cars were manhandled more, and the drivers had the ability to make more corrections and get away with errors. That also meant more "flying elbows", plus the physical drain of shifting throughout the races. Now the physical demands are a result of sustained, high g-forces.

Face it--there are 10s of thousands of drivers around the world who are capable of reaching that 9/10 level in a modern F1 car. And for some teams, that's good enough. But the drivers who can consistently reach that extra level are the elites. And from that standpoint, racing a Formula 1 car hasn't changed at all.

 

mmm... (remember when Lauda said: even monkeys could drive a F1 car this days. in the 2001 season.)

Lauda was critical of the role of a Grand Prix driver last year, claiming that even monkeys could drive the cars with traction control and other electronic aids.

Then in 2002

Lauda spins on F1 return

Lauda is towed away after his second spin
Jaguar team boss Niki Lauda drove a Formula One car for the first time in 17 years on Sunday and spun twice in his first three laps back behind the wheel.
The 52-year-old Austrian, returning to the cockpit for the specially-arranged test, was towed back to the pit garage after spinning at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia.

"My intention for this test was to understand the technology of the car - launch control, traction control and engine behaviour," Lauda said.



Lauda clambers in to Jaguar R3

"I found out everything I wanted to know. Compared to my day it is all very different. Now you keep both hands on the steering wheel!"

Lauda admitted he was surprised by how much things had changed since his last race, at the end of 1985.

He said: "In my time one hand was always operating the gear-stick.

"Now you have to keep both hands on the wheel, kick the throttle, then the revs automatically go to 17,000 and everything is automatic.

"It is such a smooth transmission when you change gear. There's no push or jerkiness."

Lauda said he had taken the advice of current Jaguar driver, Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa, before he went out on track.

"I spun a couple of times, but only because Pedro told me where to brake," Lauda joked.



Lauda behind the wheel

Lauda was critical of the role of a Grand Prix driver last year, claiming that even monkeys could drive the cars with traction control and other electronic aids.

He said: "The launch control was unbelievable. Yes, I have said that any monkey can drive a car nowadays, but I am simply comparing it to the driving 17 years ago.

"In those days you had manual gears, normal clutch, no anti-stall etc. and had to take care of wheel spin as you started. It is now a lot easier to start.

"Now I know what words like launch control, traction control, engine braking and brake balance mean. I can follow meetings better."

Despite enjoying his re-introduction to Formula One in Spain, Lauda confirmed that he would not be making another comeback into Grand Prix racing.



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LMAO.

Back then your head was the roll bar.....