by Ross Finlay (10 Jun 04)

A steering wheel worth something like €25,000? It can only be Formula 1 racing. That's the value BMW Williams team sponsor Allianz says teams put on each steering wheel, thanks to a trend in design which started back in the late 1980s. That's when the brilliant John Barnard came up with the idea of a steering wheel switch allowing Nigel Mansell to change gear without taking his heavily fireproof-gloved hand off the wheel rim.
 
It was a lot easier than fumbling for a lever, especially as a single Grand Prix might involve as many as 3000 gear changes.
 
This kind of thing took a while to catch on and be extended, not least because there were a lot of fancy electronics involved. Even a dozen years ago, the only extra controls on the steering wheel itself were buttons for letting the engine idle at pit stops, pumping fluid up from the driver's water bottle, and operating the radio - not to play the driver's favourite pop tunes, but to let him keep in contact with the pits.

Allianz points out that none of these functions affected the car's performance. It's a lot different now, because a 2004 F1 car might have 20 steering wheel buttons with 12 different functions, and they all have to be pressed correctly by a driver who still wears those bulky fireproof gloves.

During a race it's impossible to see much of what's going on in the cockpit of a modern Grand Prix car. Times have changed since Giuseppe Farina, the first world champion, used to lean so far back in the seat of his Alfa Romeo or Ferrari that the instrument dials (and sometimes, in photographs, the actual readings) could be clearly seen. But television coverage does show modern F1 drivers constantly operating steering wheel controls.

What they can do now plays a much greater part in how their cars perform in a race, rather than just let them have a cooling drink or be bawled out by the team manager.

Without taking a hand off the wheel, they can adjust the front-rear brake force distribution, the traction control, the differential setting and even the mixture going into the engine. For some, there are just too many buttons to choose from, while most of their concentration is directed at actually driving the car.

Pressing the wrong button is often (but not always) the reason for some driver losing radio contact with his pit, or breaking the pit lane speed limit when he pressed the coffee button rather than the speed limiter. Just joking, there.

It's not surprising that a typical F1 steering wheel, with its mixture of carbon, aluminium, titanium, steel, rubber and plastic components - not to mention all the electronic elements - has around 120 individual parts and takes maybe 100 man-hours to build.

Wheels are custom-built for each driver, too. While the buttons in every one of a team's cars will be in identical positions, the functions can be changed to suit the individual driver's preferences. One may want to have the radio button under his right thumb, the other to work it with his left index finger.

This kind of push-button control is almost certainly at its peak, as the FIA is set to reduce the number of electronic aids allowed, which would also reduce the number of steering wheel controls needed. Allianz quotes one F1 expert as saying it would also "automatically increase focus on the drivers' performances."

That'll be OK.

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