re: The view from inside the cockpit of an F1 racecar

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My wife in I were just in Long Beach, CA yesterday and they apparently have a race in a few weeks. The roads are set up for it already and we're thinking about driving up to watch it.

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IndyCar, not F1.

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The Long Beach Grand Prix used to be an F1 race

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Just like so many tracks today they can't or won't meet current F1 safety regulations, which is the reason there are so many Tilke tracks on the calendar.

Did you see this from this past weekend’s COTA race??

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If you started an F1 car and IndyCar side by side and raced for 60 laps (as the IndyCars did), the F1 car would finish the race 11 MINUTES before the IndyCar would, assuming a consistent 11 second per lap advantage.

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I just finished the Frank Williams documentary. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that man.

I think Hamilton posted a while back that it was like a $250k steering wheel

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The Senna doc made Prost look like an a-hole too.

Kind of like the Netflix doc makes Red Bull out to be worse than they are.

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Honestly, Prost and Senna both were supreme assholes. People will argue which one was the worst but Jacques Villeneuve, Adrian Sutil, and Eddie Irvine were the biggest a-hole drivers, that said the biggest assholes weren't drivers.

In the end, the Senna documentary was an over-enthusiastic tribute to Aryton, his legacy would be viewed a little harsher if he had remembered to turn left at Tamburello... too soon? Lots of Senna haters mellowed after May of '94 just like many of Schumacher's detractors were less vehement after December of 2013.

How do I get to the Stern channel or listen to Mad Dog Sports? I think almost every cockpit in America has a more sophisticated setup, especially since 75% of the buttons are never used in either case.

It’s surprising to me that those switches/dials aren’t digital.

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It’s surprising to me that those switches/dials aren’t digital.

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They don't want accidental touches that result in changes to the setup of the car. They want mechanical switches so the driver gets feedback when the change is made.

There are 17 power settings on the steering wheel. There's a dedicated button to pit row speed so no matter how much the pedal is mashed the proper speed is maintained.

1. Differential
Differential is used to adjust torque during turns. Hamilton adjusts this a lot in a race because the car's balance alters due to tyre wear and fuel load.

2. Overtake
Like hitting the nitrous oxide button in The Fast and the Furious, this button on the back of the steering wheel pushes the power unit into its most dynamic mode when top acceleration is needed.

3. Skip 1/10 preset
This allows Hamilton to interact with the car's 100 control sensors, either to switch off a faulty one or turn another on for strategic reasons.

4. Gearbox Neutral
To avoid accidentally putting the car into neutral at speed, it is located on the front of the wheel, rather than on the gearshift paddles at the back.

5. Pit-lane speed; 6. Pit confirm
This limits speed to 80kph for the protection of the pit crew, and alerts them to prepare for a stop without requiring radio notification.

7. Torque
This is used to select throttle "maps": if Hamilton puts his foot down he'll get all the torque; at halfway he may get more or less than half, depending on whether he wants it aggressive or gradual.

8. Accept
This confirms the modes selected by the Skip 1/10 buttons. It also triggers the clutch biting-point finder. Many of the buttons are multiplexed to save space - increasing the number of permutations to several billions.

9. DRS
The Drag Reduction System is an adjustable rear wing that delivers an aerodynamic speed boost of 10-12kph. It's only permitted within certain zones, and within one second of the car in front.

10. Strategy Rotary
Rather than having individual levels, this "go-faster" switch enables Hamilton to flick between a high-performance setting for an all-out qualifying lap and a more energy-conserving one.

11. Menu Rotary; 12. HPP Rotary
Controlling settings for the chassis and power respectively, these switches have 16 positions that each correspond to a different menu of options - that is, they're equivalent to 16 other rotaries.

13. Mark
Hamilton can flag a point in the data - for instance, a sub-optimal corner or a harsh-sounding gear change, for later analysis.

14. Radio
A crucial piece of kit for Hamilton to communicate with the team. New rules limit what data can be broadcast, thus increasing what's displayed on the wheel.