F1 RACING DECEMBER 2019 75
DRIVING WITHYOUR FEET
I need acar that has a good, strong rear stability to banish that pesky
oversteer. That’s the ideal – a car thatgives g ood front grip sothe more you
turn thewhee l, the more front gripyou get –the kind of grip that pulls you
around the corner asthoughthe car is on rails.
It’s a balanced car, that’s what it’s all about. When I brake, I brake hard
and then come oɣ. But I¶m modulating a little bit, balancing the car as
I come oɣ the brake pedal, and when I go onthe throttle, I¶m modulating
again, so I’m playing with the steering, I’m trying to be as smooth as I can
with the steering wheel. Butwhen I¶m throttling, I¶m gradually finding
the grip, so I get on the power, feel just a little bit of wheel spin, hold it
there until the whee l spin stop s and then I’ll come on with more power,
more power, more power.
All my movements are through my pedals, if you like. 6o I brake and
then I modulate that and then throttle, I’m modulating all the way
through the corner.
/ewis, on the other hand, is the opposite. /ewis arrives at acorner, bang
on the brake, and whether he’s braked in the right place or not, he just
immediately comes oɣ thebrake, no modulation. And the throttle – he
gets to the apex or the exit, and it’s like his legs are just bang, bang, bang,
and it shouldn’t work – it’s a style of driving that’s completely opposite to
mine. But it works because he does everything through the steeringwhee l,
so instead of modulating these pedals,
which is what I’d do, he’s modulating
the steering he’s accelerating and
controlling thecar through his hands
rather than his feet.
+onestly, it’s amazing. You’d open
our data and think it’s crazy howwe’re
so diɣerent and yet we would dopretty
much the same laptime.“SO INSTEAD OF MODULATING THE PEDALS, WHICH IS WHAT I’D DO, LEWIS
MODULATES THESTEERING; HE’S CONTROLLING THE CAR THROUGH HIS
HANDS RATHER THAN HIS FEET. HONESTLY. IT’S AMAZING. YOU’D OPEN
OUR DATA AND THINK IT’S CRAZY HOW WE’RE SO DIFFERENT AND YET WE
WOULD DO PRETTY MUCH THE SAME LAP TIME”
As for planes, well, back in the day, people were spending a fortuneon
them. It was the proper glitzy, glamorous lifestyle of an F1 playboy planes,
cars and boats. 5ubens Barrichello had one, 0ichael Schumacher, (ddie
Irvine. /ewis had one for years but sold it. Why" 6urprise, surprise, it
turns out that you’re throwing money away when you own a plane.
Worse even than boats.
-ust for starters, if you’re goingto buy a new one and youwant it capable
of making transatlantic Àights – which of course you would if you¶re a
Formula 1 driver – it’s going to cost you 20 million-plus, and it’ll be no
comfier than Àying first class.
Then you need a crew. Then you have airport fees, and of course the
dreaded aviation fuel. 3lus, if you own a plane you’re going to have to
service it, and when you’re servicing it for those three or four weeks,
you’re going to haveto rent another plane.
All of which meansthat if you have to Ày privatethen it¶s better to rent,
and what a lot of drivers ended up doing was clubbing together to rent aprivate Met so it cost us less. We¶d Ày to 5ussia on a 4-seater Met and share
the cost, whichwould be about 4,000 each. It¶s a pretty good way to
travel, because you’re not Tueuingup, and if you take a nap you haven’t got
people gawping at you while you’re asleep, which has always struck me as
a bit unsettling when I¶m Àying. Like, what if I start drooling, or do one of
those weird sleep-spasms when I¶m drifting oɣ"How to be an F1 driver by Jenson
Button, published by Bonnier
Books is nowon sale for £20.
See http://www.bonnierbooks.co.uk
for moreinfo rmationJenson’s first yacht, Little Missy,
moored in Monaco. Ashe quicklyfound
out, yachts arenot onlyexpensiveto
buy but they’re alsoexpensiveto run...PICTURE:MARKSUTTONF1 RACING DECEMBER 2019 75
DRIVING WITHYOUR FEET
I need acar that has a good, strong rear stability to banish that pesky
oversteer. That’s the ideal – a car thatgives g ood front grip sothe more you
turn thewhee l, the more front gripyou get –the kind of grip that pulls you
around the corner asthoughthe car is on rails.
It’s a balanced car, that’s what it’s all about. When I brake, I brake hard
and then come off. But I’m modulating a little bit, balancing the car as
I come off the brake pedal, and when I go onthe throttle, I’m modulating
again, so I’m playing with the steering, I’m trying to be as smooth as I can
with the steering wheel. Butwhen I’m throttling, I’m gradually finding
the grip, so I get on the power, feel just a little bit of wheel spin, hold it
there until the whee l spin stop s and then I’ll come on with more power,
more power, more power.
All my movements are through my pedals, if you like. So I brake and
then I modulate that and then throttle, I’m modulating all the way
through the corner.
Lewis, on the other hand, is the opposite. Lewis arrives at acorner, bang
on the brake, and whether he’s braked in the right place or not, he just
immediately comes off thebrake, no modulation. And the throttle – he
gets to the apex or the exit, and it’s like his legs are just bang, bang, bang,
and it shouldn’t work – it’s a style of driving that’s completely opposite to
mine. But it works because he does everything through the steeringwhee l,
so instead of modulating these pedals,
which is what I’d do, he’s modulating
the steering; he’s accelerating and
controlling thecar through his hands
rather than his feet.
Honestly, it’s amazing. You’d open
our data and think it’s crazy howwe’re
so different and yet we would dopretty
much the same laptime.“SO INSTEAD OF MODULATING THE PEDALS, WHICH IS WHAT I’D DO, LEWIS
MODULATES THE STEERING; HE’S CONTROLLING THE CAR THROUGH HIS
HANDS RATHER THAN HIS FEET. HONESTLY. IT’S AMAZING. YOU’D OPEN
OUR DATA AND THINK IT’S CRAZY HOW WE’RE SO DIFFERENT AND YET WE
WOULD DO PRETTY MUCH THE SAME LAP TIME”
As for planes, well, back in the day, people were spending a fortuneon
them. It was the proper glitzy, glamorous lifestyle of an F1 playboy: planes,
cars and boats. Rubens Barrichello had one, Michael Schumacher, Eddie
Irvine. Lewis had one for years but sold it. Why? Surprise, surprise, it
turns out that you’re throwing money away when you own a plane.
Worse even than boats.
Just for starters, if you’re goingto buy a new one and youwant it capable
of making transatlantic flights – which of course you would if you’re a
Formula 1 driver – it’s going to cost you $20 million-plus, and it’ll be no
comfier than flying first class.
Then you need a crew. Then you have airport fees, and of course the
dreaded aviation fuel. Plus, if you own a plane you’re going to have to
service it, and when you’re servicing it for those three or four weeks,
you’re going to haveto rent another plane.
All of which meansthat if you have to fly privatethen it’s better to rent,
and what a lot of drivers ended up doing was clubbing together to rent aprivate jet so it cost us less. We’d fly to Russia on a 14-seater jet and share
the cost, whichwould be about $4,000 each. It’s a pretty good way to
travel, because you’re not queuingup, and if you take a nap you haven’t got
people gawping at you while you’re asleep, which has always struck me as
a bit unsettling when I’m flying. Like, what if I start drooling, or do one of
those weird sleep-spasms when I’m drifting off?How to be an F1 driver by Jenson
Button, published by Bonnier
Books is nowon sale for £20.
See http://www.bonnierbooks.co.uk
for moreinfo rmationJenson’s first yacht, Little Missy,
moored in Monaco. Ashe quicklyfound
out, yachts arenot onlyexpensiveto
buy but they’re alsoexpensiveto run...PICTURE
:MARKSUTTON