Formula 1 is a complicated sport. Team radio can tell drivers almost everything they need to know, but the multitude of different gadgets and gizmos on each car have to be controlled by the guy in the cockpit — and that’s where the steering wheel comes in. Three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has more influence than most drivers in the way his steering wheel looks and feels, and it’s an extremely complex piece of technology.
Hamilton says he’s actually had a very large part in designing the steering wheel and saving weight in its construction — maybe as much as 250 grams — through a few tweaks like slicing off the base of the handgrips where they meet the centre puck, unnecessary due to the way he holds the wheel while racing. There’s a large central display as in previous years, but the multitude of buttons — brake bias, DRS, pit lane speed limiting, and three manettinos for engine/fuel strategy, engine mapping, and a central multifunction dial that influences everything from tyre swaps in the pits to cruise control.
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6 responses to “Lewis Hamilton’s F1 Steering Wheel Is Insane”
Wow Lewis is even taking credit for shaving weight off the steering wheel now? Imagine how much weight they would save if he could decrease the size of his head, or removed the diamond brick in his ear. Given he only had to beat 1 guy to be the champ 2 years in a row, you would think he would be slightly more humble.
“I took a lot of pride in…” aka you better gimme what I want.
I try not to judge athletes and famous people too much because at the end of the day I still barely know them, but this guy doesn’t help.
You’re right about trying not to judge people you don’t ‘really’ know, but this guy makes that non-judgement thing a little hard. Maybe in real life I’d think he was a great guy, but then given that he doesn’t seem to be very popular amongst the other drivers, as well as others around the paddock, I’m tipping we’d never be bff’s
Actually the teams are limited in regards to what they can tell their drivers as per the rules. They’re getting even stricter this season too. You can find some radio chatter from this season where the drivers ask something (mid race) and the team simply responds “sorry, we can’t tell you that”.
Look at that thing! Looks like a toddler’s toy… and yet here I struggle with finding the right buttons on my PS4 controller!
Even has a PSP in the middle to pass the time during the boring parts of a long straight.