In fairness to lewham and all other drivers, there are 300+ modes/submenus for the basic operation of the MGU-K/H/regen/engine brake.
Just looking at all of the dials and switches on the steering wheels that are used to control the car these days is mind blowing! (and unlike the race sims, drivers can't press the "pause" button to take a quick butchers at the manual to figure things out when the car's not working). At least you now have some insight into what the drivers are up against - Just from their own cars!
I do normally only race online so no pause button there. Though the consequences are quite a bit less dramatic... Looking at the wheels though, I see a LOT of logic in them. I don't have enough buttons on my wheel so actually do have to take my eyes of the road to start fiddling with switches and buttons. I only have DRS/KERS deploy/brake balance and flappy paddles on my wheel, the rest is on the thing next to it.
Yeah sure but it is Elton's fncken job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I used to be an IT manager and just like Elton it is my job to know the systems I managed. Yes I consulted with my team as Elton does during practice. Remember he has every single day between race meetings to learn all these systems and that is what is required of the modern racing driver, and what Ayton Senna and Michael Schumacher would be doing if their cars were like this ... instead of playing at being a celebrity. MS used to end holidays early to go and see his new car and get started on knowing it. We know from Elton that he is so superior he won't bother using the simulator anymore (to learn Baku for example) and believes he can just turn up and win ... and the result was a crash in qualifying and then bumbling around in the car unable to use the controls while his team mate was. If was team boss after he refused to use the simulator, I'd have discussed refusing to pay him his full contracted amount ! Yes but I bet they settle on say 3 mode options once ready for a race, so unless massive changes in weather occur there wouldn't be a need to consult that many ... Pete
At 20miilion a year or so, I'd expect to be the absolute master of all controls and switches on the car, it's the least that should be expected of the drivers, otherwise they aren't worth their wages. They should practice practice practice until they are at the top level, so we 'mortals' wouldn't take anything away from a simulator slaughtering except to know that we aren't masters of an f1 car, and likely wouldn't want to be unless we were getting the millions they get...... Why bother. Just like in real life, in our jobs, we specialise in our fields and get paid , for example - I'm a mortgage specialist, I have a man to do pensions for people, unless I'm getting paid for the pension work, why would I bother learning how to do it myself when I can pass it on. I make money being (I hope) one of the best at what I can do. I'd be embarrassed if I couldn't do a part of my job pretty much with my eyes shut given what I get paid.
Fair enough on the pause button! I think the bumping around, G-forces and other stresses involved with actually racing a real car on track must add to the issues encountered by Lewis and the gang when it comes to operating these cars. As I've previously posted, at least you now have a bit of an understanding of some of what their up against when trying to race these cars these days! - They have to not only be a driver now, but also an engineer and computer programmer too! I'd go as far as to say that people claiming Lewis Hamilton is an idiot for failing to fix his car mid race are completely ignorant of the modern day sport! Good luck with your racing!
The difference is, you have plenty of time to examine the pros and cons before you make your mortgage decisions,and it's not as though there's only one mortgage available that you're trying to win for your client. Added to that, whilst sat behind your desk sorting out mortgages, you're not exactly putting your life on the line like an F1 driver hurtling into a corner at @ 200mph, are you? You have days to make your decisions, whereas F1 drivers have a split second to make theirs! Let's put it this way: If someone set you a target to set up from scratch, 72 mortgages, all of which had to be perfect for their respective clients, and all of which had to be completed in 1.5 hours from start to finish, can you honestly say that you would get them all completed without a single problem? And then, what if halfway through the 1.5 hours you suddenly had to sort out a pension for a client within the remaining time, without any help whatsoever from your pension expert? Would you feel confident of getting all the mortgages and the pension sorted out perfectly within 1.5 hours?
And people say modern f1 cars are easy. Some of the old f1 drivers probably do not even know how to work a computer. There would have been some too stupid for the modern formula
No one is making any noise about rosberg not knowing how to fix his gear problem. It was a simple switch that the team told him in a second. But instead all pile on lewis
Did you ever shift an unsynchronized gearbox? I did. It takes practice. And I did it only at 50 mph without pressure
In the end the drivers that can deal with the computer and technology will be the most successful. Has been like this all the time in any period of motorsport, ie. you have to be able to get the best of the machine you are given. So maybe now more than just natural talent you need to know about computers, just like in Nuvolari's day you needed to know when to pump the oil lever to top up the sump, for example, etc. Motorsport has never JUST been about driving ability. Pete
I'll put it this way Phil, if I had 72 mortgages to do non stop, I'd get the done perfectly in the 'lap time' expected for each. If there was a problem along the way, I'd know how to fix it immediately. One thing I have is a 15+ odd year reputation with no complaints and a fantastic reputation for speed of work and accuracy Going to racing, when I raced motorcycles years ago, I risked my life the same as everyone else, I won some, lost some, and came off a few times, same in cars too. However, I always knew how to operate my equipment, 110%, because my life and others depended on me getting it right, and mine on them Trying to say we should make allowances because eltons job is technical now is, frankly, a joke. It's still his job, he should be capable of doing it, and the pressure comes with that job he claims to be great at, so why should we be cutting the guy, or anyone else for that matter, slack, when he gets multi millions per race to get it right. If he didn't make ill-judged statements about not needing practice, not using the sims, missing briefings etc, maybe he would be better thought of. If he were a boxer that turned up with no gym and training time and got a good hiding, would we respect him and praise him in defeat? - of course not, and a racing driver who doesn't know his car and systems well enough is just as bad Oh, and I've piloted quite a few cars into the chicane at monza, and around parabolica, so I know exactly how it feels to be one twitch from disaster and being the laughing stock of a bunch of crazy Italians!
Stefan Johansson weighs in on the subject. Calls current F-1 "engineering porn". Johansson urges F1 to move away from ?engineering porn? BHW
Stefan is a very knowledgeable and balanced commentator on f1, it wouldn't hurt for todt and co to entertain some of his ideas...... he has more clue about how to make it great again than they do collectively
Just because you can have many modes and setups using a computer does not mean you have to. I cannot see why they would need more than 3 in the real world per track, okay max 10, so again while it CAN be complex it does not have to be. Also to give Elton some slack if Mercedes have not run proper training sessions then they deserve the blame. Pete
If your life and your livelihood depends on your k owing how to work your car, I reckon you would and should get to know the manual regardless. we don't hear Nico moaning and whining about his settings nearly as often as Elton, he has taken the time to learn it all, and presumably they get the same training?
