lamo wrote:
Drivers have had to change their style in the past. Watch Fernando Alonso onboard in 2006 and then 2007, he completely changed his driving style. Fisichella was not able to change his natural driving style to extract the maximum out of the 2005 and 2006 Renaults and thus was thrashed by Alonso. Alonso has said the 2005/06 style was not his instinctive way to drive the car but he adapted to drive it in this way as it was the fastest way.
Alonso 2006, renault, michelin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga2oMhfV94YFisichella 2006, renault, michelin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wBg-VWTlj8Alonso 2007, mclaren, bridgestone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3mYQQsFmacIf you are good enough you will adapt
Adapting is not changing your inherent style.
Watching In Boards does not give you info like how they use their brakes and Throttle. They might evolve over the years BUT their is no flip of the switch.
Drivers have a "Tell" like two guys I knew. One An International Champion (Works driver) the other Very quick had rallied at international level just no funds (and most importantly probably better than the other guy) .
One guy no matter what car he was in Would brake hard then back off the breaks almost completely but not quite and then apply more pressure gradually. That put the weight on the nose to help turn in and help prevent lock ups.
The other would give the brakes a little dab then come off them completely then braking again for the corner. We always called it a confidence brake. It was as if he was sub conciously checking they were working before commiting. He didn't even now he was doing it until it was pointed out.
There was a third guy who rallied for a works team also. He was just balls out Hammy style late braker tried his best to kill me
Put them in different cars, they all adapted like in a RWD they would control the rear with the throttle. In a 205 they would change how they down shifted and lifted to prevent the tail end understeer. But if you were blind folded and put into the car you could tell which one was which just by the way they drove, the braking how they used the throttle how much sawing at the wheel they done. It sounds silly but between the first two in corners with one you always felt like the nose of the car was in the air with the other it always felt like it was pointing down. Just because of the way they used the brakes and throttle.
Or look on YT for the telem comparision between Schui and Herbert.
From what I read it's the brakes that were the important part of the Pirelli equation this year. Because of the way the rubber reacted when the load went on, thats one of the reasons they have improved the bi-directional qualities of it . Or whatever the terminology is they are using this year.
Of course this conversation is kinda Moot as McLaren didn't know what to do so even if it was possible to hit a reset switch they didn't know what to reset it too until the fabled meeting.
Edit Or another way of looking at it. If drivers could all change their style. Everyone of Schuis team mates would drive like Schui.
Massa would be driving like Alonso to make Ferraris life easier