planetf1.com

All of you know how many buttons there are nowadays on an F1 steering wheel. Very complex.
Until the late nineties cars had very simple steering wheels with just 1 button and 1 switch. And before the nineties there was no button at all. Sometimes I love to see old footage or races just to see those simple steering wheels. Like this:

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F1 fan since 1989

What the..... What does the button do

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KIMI: Yeah,Winning feels good.But I am not the type of guy to jump up and down and rub it in everyone's face.

Kills the Engine.

I think 2 buttons in the early nineties right.
Radio and Push to Pass which increased Revs ?
OP I too would like to see simpler sterring wheels it would make me feel like the driver is required to do more. They have fuel mix buttons..button for pit lane speed limiter...bite point launch button which is pretty much launch control...differential setting. So much driver assists like that, It would be nice to have those gone and require driver input based on touch, feel and response from the car. I would also like to see paddles gone but I think thats asking too much now : (

I think the wheels got so complex with the ban of the two way telemetry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me7J2FxA_E4

Ferrari 640, aka F1/89, introduced semiautomatic gears in the sport, notice the paddles behind the wheels.

There's something very satisfying about on board footage from the old days, just a basic steering wheel and a manual gearbox, it's all so raw. I personally think it's a shame that we've gone from the wheels of the mid-2000s which a big screen and loads of handy data on it to the much more basic-looking button covered wheels today, it's like a bit of a step backwards.

Agreed, these days it's much easier with most things electronically controlled. Back in the day drivers had to work much harder behind the wheel.

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Driver Instructor & Test Driver

I saw Prost's 1990 Ferrari in a showroom in Paris last month and was staring at the steering wheel for ages thinking how basic they were back then - just an engine kill switch and the pit-to-car radio.

Today's wheels are just TOO complicated!

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I miss the old Hockenheimring

Funny thing is you look at a modern steering wheel and think that there's a lot of buttons, but close to all of those buttons and switches have their own sub-menu systems.

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PF1 Pick 10 Competition
Best Round Result: 1st (Monaco 2012)
Podiums: 4
2013 Championship Standing: 78th

Compare to:

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"We can not drive slower, just to make the races more exciting." Alain Prost

Haven't you contradicted yourself there? In times of yore, the drivers could just sit down, shut up and drive, now they have to deal with so much more; they have to manage fuel mix, they have to maintain their delta time as shown by the display, they have to check to see if DRS is available, they have to use KERS, they have to change brake bias (even between corners!) etc. Back in the day, driving required more "feel" for the car but was a hell of a lot less complicated!

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"Where are all the good men dead, in the heart or in the head?"

Give 'em hell Dani!

British Driver Supporter (and Daniel Ricciardo)

It makes me laugh when people say to me drivers have it easy nowadays. .. . They don't have to do anything the car does it all for them

That's a strange smiley to use then!

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Use every man after his desert, and who should scape whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity.

Maria de Villota

they shouldn't have the rev lights that tell the driver when to change gear, thats all i think should be taken off the wheels

It is just a proof that driving in an older car is easier (if not much) than the current car. Simple.