After the Barcelona test, some of the drivers were asked how they felt about the lack of traction control in the cars for 2008. Their answers were quite revealing, perhaps giving a clue as to how each will fare in the coming season. This could be the change that separates the men from the boys.
Jack Brabham - Traction control? What's that?
De la Rosa's comments were almost laughable. Take this, for instance:
"Without traction control it is much more difficult to accelerate - you have to apply your foot on the throttle much more carefully." Formula1Sport
Ummm, yes, Pedro, it's called driving the car. It makes me wonder whether these guys have ever driven a real car at all - maybe they are just programmed robots after all. And Felipe Massa's comment was in much the same vein:
"The fact is I don't have any experience without traction control..." Pitpass
Has Felipe never driven a car without traction control? I suppose it's possible these days if you have grown up being able to afford the more expensive makes - and almost all these Brazilian drivers come from affluent families that could afford to put their sons into karts. It still surprises me somewhat and I feel sorry for anyone who hasn't experienced the joys of cornering a car at the limit of adhesion on the accelerator alone.
Massa thinks it will be more dangerous, especially in the wet. And, come to think of it, he must be right, considering his problems in the wet even with traction control. Don't bet on Massa if it rains, people!
The story from others, and not necessarily just the older guys with memories, was very different. Everyone has said that Jenson Button would benefit from the change and here is what he had to say about it:
"Definitely, it is not exactly.... In a lot of corners you really don't feel the difference. Yes, starts are going to be more fun. We have not done much work on the starts yet." Autosport
See? I told you it was definitely not exactly. Or did I? Actually I may have omitted that choice nugget. But it seems Jenson did not find it much different, perhaps because he never did learn to use the traction control in the savage way the others did. A driver through and through, Jenson must have been using his backside to drive all these years, just as we used to do back in prehistoric times. Now that's a good sign for the future.
And then we have a young upstart getting a word in. These are Heikki Kovalainen's thoughts:
"Not as bad as some people said it would be... I have heard some horror stories. I have driven a car without TC before, but with this level of power you really don't know what is going to be like, but it has not been too difficult.
"Obviously you have to adjust your driving style and care for the tyres, but in high speed corners it does not affect so much. You can still nail the throttle there, but in the lower speed corners you have to be a bit more careful now. Not too bad at all." Autosport
Good to hear that this is one young pup who has actually driven without TC before. But then he's a Finn, isn't he? I bet they turn off the TC just to have fun on the ice in the winter. And he gives a pretty fair description of what driving is like and, in the process, sums up the reason for all our protests against TC in the past. We have been begging to see driving skills, not clever computing.
By the sound of it, F1 has a part of its soul back. At last we will truly be able to say that "the best driver won" instead of suspecting that his car had the best software. Now we need to tackle those silly grooved tires and ridiculous winglets...
News Flash: I've just heard (unofficially) that the Court of Appeal has rejected McLaren's case against the decision of the Brazilian stewards in the cool fuel case. Nothing changes, does it?
Jack Brabham - Traction control? What's that?
De la Rosa's comments were almost laughable. Take this, for instance:
"Without traction control it is much more difficult to accelerate - you have to apply your foot on the throttle much more carefully." Formula1Sport
Ummm, yes, Pedro, it's called driving the car. It makes me wonder whether these guys have ever driven a real car at all - maybe they are just programmed robots after all. And Felipe Massa's comment was in much the same vein:
"The fact is I don't have any experience without traction control..." Pitpass
Has Felipe never driven a car without traction control? I suppose it's possible these days if you have grown up being able to afford the more expensive makes - and almost all these Brazilian drivers come from affluent families that could afford to put their sons into karts. It still surprises me somewhat and I feel sorry for anyone who hasn't experienced the joys of cornering a car at the limit of adhesion on the accelerator alone.
Massa thinks it will be more dangerous, especially in the wet. And, come to think of it, he must be right, considering his problems in the wet even with traction control. Don't bet on Massa if it rains, people!
The story from others, and not necessarily just the older guys with memories, was very different. Everyone has said that Jenson Button would benefit from the change and here is what he had to say about it:
"Definitely, it is not exactly.... In a lot of corners you really don't feel the difference. Yes, starts are going to be more fun. We have not done much work on the starts yet." Autosport
See? I told you it was definitely not exactly. Or did I? Actually I may have omitted that choice nugget. But it seems Jenson did not find it much different, perhaps because he never did learn to use the traction control in the savage way the others did. A driver through and through, Jenson must have been using his backside to drive all these years, just as we used to do back in prehistoric times. Now that's a good sign for the future.
And then we have a young upstart getting a word in. These are Heikki Kovalainen's thoughts:
"Not as bad as some people said it would be... I have heard some horror stories. I have driven a car without TC before, but with this level of power you really don't know what is going to be like, but it has not been too difficult.
"Obviously you have to adjust your driving style and care for the tyres, but in high speed corners it does not affect so much. You can still nail the throttle there, but in the lower speed corners you have to be a bit more careful now. Not too bad at all." Autosport
Good to hear that this is one young pup who has actually driven without TC before. But then he's a Finn, isn't he? I bet they turn off the TC just to have fun on the ice in the winter. And he gives a pretty fair description of what driving is like and, in the process, sums up the reason for all our protests against TC in the past. We have been begging to see driving skills, not clever computing.
By the sound of it, F1 has a part of its soul back. At last we will truly be able to say that "the best driver won" instead of suspecting that his car had the best software. Now we need to tackle those silly grooved tires and ridiculous winglets...
News Flash: I've just heard (unofficially) that the Court of Appeal has rejected McLaren's case against the decision of the Brazilian stewards in the cool fuel case. Nothing changes, does it?