Buttons / Levers within the cockpit.
- This topic has 13 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 2 months ago by
.
- Posts
Every year we see more and more buttons on appearing on the steering wheel and elsewhere, such as the one handed driving by some drivers in 2009 for KERS.
At what point do they say enough? I personally think that they should be restricted to only a few.
I hope this is looked into by the FIA soon before it is too late…
I think driving one handed (Alonso at Spain had both hands off the wheel on one onboard I remember) was only a problem last year with the F duct but I may well be wrong.
There is quite a lot for the driver to do but I think in some ways this year might be easier; although they have a lot of buttons to remember I don’t they’re not taking one hand away from the steering wheel for a substantial amount of time like they were with the F duct.
It could be something that needs to be looked at though.
i dont really understand why the rear wing can’t be done automatically rather than being driver controlled – or is it too complex?
Why not have it pedal operated, so that when the driver hits the brakes it goes down automatically because he’s only got two feet, which I think it’s supposed to anyway?
What i’ve gathered is that this does happen – there was an interview with Sam Michael today who said that sometimes its preferable for the driver to bring the wing back up to normal downforce before breaking though. I’m not sure why that would be, but thats why the drivers have a button for it as well.
I just want to see who is the best driver, not who can remember to push the correct button, at the right time.
It can’t be automatic because when a driver slams the brakes the wing wouldn’t close immediately – it would takes a tenth or so, hence the car wouldn’t slow down as it should.
From a safety point of view, yes, this should be reviewed before it get’s to be an issue, but the drivers don’t tend to complain that much and they’re the ones having to use all these gizmo’s. From a racing point of view I think it only adds to the spectacle. Formula 1 is one a few caterogies of motorsport where it’s not just about 4 wheels on tarmac, it pushes drivers much more both mentally and physically and we should celebrate that, but I guess only to a certain degree. I don’t want fully automated cars..but I do want innovation.
What’s wrong with buttons? I can see the argument against some of the “driver aids” (although I don’t agree with it) themselves, but what’s wrong with buttons? I don’t get it.
So you don’t necessarily have a problem with, say moveable rear wings, but you don’t like the drivers having to control them? But why? Having them automated would just be ridiculous, so you wither have buttons or no moveable wings.
Why not have it pedal operated, so that when the driver hits the brakes it goes down automatically because he’s only got two feet, which I think it’s supposed to anyway?
It does exactly that. From the 2011 Formula 1 Technical Ragulations:
The system will be disabled by the control electronics the first time the driver uses the brakes after he has activated the system.
There seems to be a lot of debate recently over safety regarding all these “buttons” in the cockpit that the driver has to operate. I remember reading a few articles last year in which people suggested that one of the reasons there was less overtaking was because of the lack of (amongst other things) manual gear boxes. In the “old days” drivers were more likely to make a mistake when changing gears and this provided more overtaking opportunities. Perhaps having even more to do in the modern cockpit will shift the bias slightly, making cars more difficult to drive and bringing the human element more into play.
My biggest gripe with buttons is how the drivers are constantly changing settings as they go round a lap. This is fine in itself but takes away from the concept of a setup being a ‘compromise’ if brake bias etc can be altered at will. Adjustable wings and KERS will only compound this.
If it were down to me I’d say each car can have, say, 6 buttons and the teams can choose which systems they want to use them for.
Had my good chuckle for the day. Looked at the title of this post and thought “ok, Button is McLaren….who the heck does Levers drive for?”
I really need a vacation, LOL
Interesting comments from Barrichello today on the subject:
‘Rubens Barrichello has expressed concerns about the amount of work drivers have to do in the cockpit this season. The Williams driver tried the Kers system and the moveable rear wing for the first time, and found it hard to focus on the actual driving. “I don’t think it’s a danger, but I think it’s a concern,” said the Brazilian. “The problem is you are taking your eye off the road.”‘
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.