Lewis Hamilton’s F1 Steering Wheel Is Insane

Video: Formula 1 is a complicated sport. Team radio can tell drivers almost everything they need to know, but the multitude of different gadgets and gizmos on each car have to be controlled by the guy in the cockpit — and that’s where the steering wheel comes in. Three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has more influence than most drivers in the way his steering wheel looks and feels, and it’s an extremely complex piece of technology.

Hamilton says he’s actually had a very large part in designing the steering wheel and saving weight in its construction — maybe as much as 250 grams — through a few tweaks like slicing off the base of the handgrips where they meet the centre puck, unnecessary due to the way he holds the wheel while racing. There’s a large central display as in previous years, but the multitude of buttons — brake bias, DRS, pit lane speed limiting, and three manettinos for engine/fuel strategy, engine mapping, and a central multifunction dial that influences everything from tyre swaps in the pits to cruise control.


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