Chapter 08
Handling
Listen to team radio and you’ll hear drivers complain that the car won’t turn, or that the rear is loose. They’re describing which end of the car runs out of grip first. Get that right and the car flies.
Builds on Chapter 07: Corners.
Understeer and oversteer
The front tyres steer the car; the rear tyres push it. Each pair has a limit, and in every corner one of them reaches it first. How evenly the grip is shared is the car’s .
Try all three below, then drag the front wing between them. More wing means more grip at the front. Watch the steering wheel, and which tyres leave skid marks.
Understeer
“No front end.” “The car won’t turn.”
The front tyres run out of grip first. The driver turns the wheel, but the car carries on wider than they asked, towards the outside of the corner.
- How to spot it
- Cars running wide on the exit, over the outside and onto the run-off.
- What the driver does
- Slow down more before turning in and ease off the steering, so the front tyres can grip again. Winding on more lock only makes it worse.
Oversteer
“The rear is loose.” “Snappy on entry.”
The rear tyres let go first. The back of the car swings out and the car rotates more than the driver asked, pointing towards the inside of the corner.
- How to spot it
- Quick flicks of the steering the opposite way on the onboard camera, and puffs of tyre smoke from the rear.
- What the driver does
- Catch it with and be gentle with the throttle. Too much power on the exit is the usual cause.
Balanced
“The balance is good.”
Both ends reach their limit together. The car goes where it’s pointed, right on the edge of grip. This is what drivers and engineers chase all weekend.
- How to spot it
- A driver who looks calm and slow on the onboard, and then sets the fastest lap.
- What the driver does
- Nothing to fix. A slightly car is often quicker, but harder to drive.
You can’t have it all
A tyre has one budget of grip to spend on braking, turning or accelerating. Spend it all on braking and there’s none left to turn with. Engineers draw this as a . Stay inside it and the tyre grips; poke outside and it slides.
The quickest drivers keep the tyre right on the edge of the circle the whole way through a corner, easing off the brake as they add steering. That overlap is called trail braking.
At the limit
Right on the edge of the circle, with every bit of grip in use. That’s the fastest a driver can go.
What tips a car one way or the other
Engineers tune the balance with the wings, suspension and tyre pressures. But it changes all race long: as fuel burns off, as the tyres wear, and as the wind shifts.
Understeer comes from
- Arriving too fast, or braking too late into the corner
- Cold or worn front tyres
- Too little front wing
- Turbulent air from a car close in front, which steals front
Oversteer comes from
- Too much throttle on the exit (power oversteer)
- Lifting off mid-corner, which takes weight off the rear tyres
- Worn rear tyres late in a stint
- Too much front wing
What to watch for on race day
- The exit of slow corners. A car that runs wide on to the has ; one that wiggles as the driver gets on the power has snapped into .
- Onboard steering. Smooth, small inputs mean a well-balanced car. Quick flicks of mean the rear is fighting the driver.
- Puffs of white smoke under braking mean a . The tyre skids and wears a flat spot that the driver will feel for the rest of the stint.