Driver "developing" a car

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raymondu999
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Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 07:31

Driver "developing" a car

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I'm sure we all know that there are several drivers who are known to be able to give very good feedback to the cars (such as Alonso). However, there are also drivers who are great set-up finders (such as Rubinho). Now what I wanted to know is... where exactly does the difference lie between the two types? After I thought about it, the most feedback a driver would be able to give is just regarding the handling and balance of the car, no? Meaning that he is giving set-up feedback as opposed to development feedback? Any insight is appreciated.
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Jersey Tom
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Joined: 29 May 2006, 20:49
Location: Huntersville, NC

Re: Driver "developing" a car

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It's one thing to have an established baseline.. deliver consistent laps, and detailed broken-down feedback while making incremental setup changes.

It's another to not really have that established baseline, and to jump between things that can be pretty substantially different, adapt to them quickly, and deliver the same level of feedback.
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speedsense
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Joined: 31 May 2009, 19:11
Location: California, USA

Re: Driver "developing" a car

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raymondu999 wrote:I'm sure we all know that there are several drivers who are known to be able to give very good feedback to the cars (such as Alonso). However, there are also drivers who are great set-up finders (such as Rubinho). Now what I wanted to know is... where exactly does the difference lie between the two types? After I thought about it, the most feedback a driver would be able to give is just regarding the handling and balance of the car, no? Meaning that he is giving set-up feedback as opposed to development feedback? Any insight is appreciated.
There was a time, about some 15 years ago, when the first or second line on a driver's resume was how good they were at feedback. The use of data acquisition has had a major enhancement to the driver's feedback, almost to the point that a driver with very little recall, can overshadow a driver that does, simply by having a very good data analysis person. Some of the recent driver's like Hamilton, Vettel etc. have pretty much had data as their recall tool since they started their driving career.
Schumacher and Alonso, didn't have the luxury of data through their career. As Schumacher was stated that he didn't really get data, until he drove in F1.
Diver's who have a great data analyzer or two in their camp, are the true setup creates. Drivers who can also analyze their own data are miles ahead of those who can't. IMHO, that's the major difference, is those who have the analysis. Otherwise, the recall skills of the "older" drivers who had to have that skill, come into play.
The data guys already known where, what, when and how the car's handling is, before the driver even pulls into pitlane. Even a driver's debrief is confirmed and backed up by data. The only thing they don't know is how the driver feels about it or what he's having for lunch. IMHO
"Driving a car as fast as possible (in a race) is all about maintaining the highest possible acceleration level in the appropriate direction." Peter Wright,Techical Director, Team Lotus

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