"It's exhilarating to overtake and there's a real science to it"
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton today spoke of how “exhilarating” it was for him to overtake another driver when racing while addressing the third Formula One Teams Association Fans Forum to happen this year.
“It’s exhilarating to overtake and there’s a real science to it,” he said at the Forum, which took place at the McLaren Technology Centre and was hosted by writer and broadcaster James Allen. “You know how easy or aggressive someone is to overtake so you have to calculate the risk and go for it.”
Speaking to over 200 fans present, he was joined on stage by Sauber F1 Team driver Kamui Kobayashi .With reputations as the two best overtakers in the sport, the drivers answered questions about how driver aids such as DRS and KERS Hybrid systems had influenced how easy it was to overtake.
Kobayashi said he definitely felt they had made overtaking easier compared to the 2010 season.
The pair was asked what they would add to the Formula 1 spectacle if they could. They agreed cameras in their helmets would be great, because cameras on top of their cars’ airboxes didn’t really give a clear impression of what they could see from the cockpit.
The drivers’ segment was just one making up the Forum. The Big Picture saw Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team principal and FOTA chairman Martin Whitmarsh, Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn, Marussia Virgin Racing chairman Graeme Lowdon, and Force India F1 Team deputy team principal Robert Fernley take questions.
Topics included how Formula 1 could remain at the pinnacle of world motorsport, but appeal to car manufacturers and be environmentally friendly at the same time.
“Formula 1 has to be the pinnacle [of world motorsport], but the technologies we use and develop have to be relevant to the wider world, as well as appealing to car manufacturers,” said Whitmarsh.
The new engine formula for 2014 and beyond was also discussed. “We need technology transfer [to road cars]. The 1.6-litre turbocharged V6s will hopefully help attract new competitors and poses a new engineering challenge, so I’m excited,” said Brawn.
Another part of the forum got technical. Entitled Technical Inspection, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes technical director Paddy Lowe, Lotus Renault GP technical director James Allison and Red Bull Racing head of race engineering Paul Monaghan made up the panel.
Many fans agreed the new-for-2011 Drag Reduction System has dramatically improved the Formula 1 show and could be even better with fine-tuning.
Allison said he felt Formula 1’s fanbase was a lot more technical than for other sports such as football, so it would be great for the teams to share more information about technology.
“Lots of fans want to know about technology, and there are many ways the teams could be more open without revealing their own technical secrets,” he said.
Finally, the panel was asked what caused such large differentiations in performance between two team-mates. They agreed there were two – the first was how confident the stronger performing driver was at any one time, and the second was how well they happened to qualify for a race.
Go to twitter.com/thefifthdriver for more pics from the day - watch out for even more from the forum on McLaren.com tomorrow!
Credit: McLaren (mclaren.com)
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