The steering wheel of modern Formula 1 cars is a complex electronic device that allows the driver to control a vast amount of car settings. The teams often assign one engineer that is responsible for its electronics so that the car is as fast as it can be.
The fabrication of a steering wheel is extremely complex. Various lightweight materials are used for its production, including carbon fibre, titanium, aluminium, steel, plastic and rubber. A complete steering wheel can take approximately 100 hours to produce from start to finish for a price tag of $50,000 and a weight of just 1.3 kg!
The steering wheel is filled with buttons, knobs, screens, LEDs and rotary switches.
During a Grand Prix race, a driver has to change gears for approximately 3,500 times, keep radio contact with the team, check fuel level, deploy KERS when available, activate the low-drag rear wing, activate drink pump, select tire adaptation, watch the display giving him useful information on revs, lap times, speed, gear and more, change brake settings, activate pit lane limiter, control differential settings, and so on.
Also, according to the current FIA regulations, due to safety reasons, the nowadays steering wheels in Formula One are fitted with easy-to-release mechanism in order for the drivers to quickly remove it from the cockpit in case of accidents.
The fabrication of a steering wheel is extremely complex. Various lightweight materials are used for its production, including carbon fibre, titanium, aluminium, steel, plastic and rubber. A complete steering wheel can take approximately 100 hours to produce from start to finish for a price tag of $50,000 and a weight of just 1.3 kg!
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| (Photo: WRI2) |
The steering wheel is filled with buttons, knobs, screens, LEDs and rotary switches.
During a Grand Prix race, a driver has to change gears for approximately 3,500 times, keep radio contact with the team, check fuel level, deploy KERS when available, activate the low-drag rear wing, activate drink pump, select tire adaptation, watch the display giving him useful information on revs, lap times, speed, gear and more, change brake settings, activate pit lane limiter, control differential settings, and so on.
Also, according to the current FIA regulations, due to safety reasons, the nowadays steering wheels in Formula One are fitted with easy-to-release mechanism in order for the drivers to quickly remove it from the cockpit in case of accidents.
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