Best Driver on the Brakes

[Tom Castellani]

I remember reading in a book (can't remember which, per haps Eddie Jordan's) that when the clutch was moved to the steering wheel Rubens didn't like left foot braking. He was way too used to right foot braking so his team at the time positioned the pedals to the right as they would have been previously. To some drivers this might be a disadvantage but it clearly works for him...

[jamsbong]

I thought all young generation drivers uses left foot braking. I didn't realise Ruben still the old fashion man. No wonder he is rarely as fast as MS.

Why don't drivers like him develop left foot braking? clearly there is an advantage. If I was paid millions, I would do it for sure.

[Afterburner]

Rubens due to his crash still has one screw on his foot that doesn't allow him to push the brake properly during a full race, he tried to brake with the right and accelerate with the left but lacked sensibility when accelerating so he returned to the old method.

[ISLAMATRON]

Wasnt it reported that he switched to left foot braking when he went to Honda?

[Afterburner]

Nope, the radio interview i posted unfornately it's in portuguese but it was made last week and he says he uses differente brake pads due to he's right foot braking.

To be more precise, Rubens says he uses over one lap 80% right foot braking and 20% left foot braking.

[alexbarwell]

I know its more of a 'how' than a 'who' for late braking, but an interview with Derek Bell some years ago about driving a Bentley LM racer talked of braking hard initially when the brakes are most effective and the forward weight transfer gives more bite, then reducing brake effort as you approach the slowest point as weight transfer has reduced and an inner/light corner would lose grip and braking effectiveness.
With the balistic action of brake bias valves, a quick hit on the brakes diverts more effort to the fronts in combination with the weight transfer. I had unknowingly spooked some friends with this technique, particularly driving my old boss round goodwood in his MGTF

[Richard]

he can push it so hard but never lock up

Lets get this straight ...

First - The force the driver exerts is personal preference. A light footed driver can have hydraulics and pedal leverage adjusted to exert the same force on the brake pads as a heavy footed driver.

Second - Locking up is only bad when it is excessive. The fastest driver will lock up when required and will be faster than the driver who never locks up.

Third - Best on brakes is judged by the end product, ie passing people by out braking them into a corner.

Fourth - How do so may people have such personal knowledge of Webber's foot force, is it some sort of new graphic that I've missed on the TV?

[Birel99]

I know its more of a 'how' than a 'who' for late braking, but an interview with Derek Bell some years ago about driving a Bentley LM racer talked of braking hard initially when the brakes are most effective and the forward weight transfer gives more bite, then reducing brake effort as you approach the slowest point as weight transfer has reduced and an inner/light corner would lose grip and braking effectiveness.
With the balistic action of brake bias valves, a quick hit on the brakes diverts more effort to the fronts in combination with the weight transfer. I had unknowingly spooked some friends with this technique, particularly driving my old boss round goodwood in his MGTF

Also a tyre has the most inertia just before you begin to decelerate, thus more brake force is require initially.

[jamsbong]

There are tracks with long large corners in which a strong foot or late brake is pointless. It is more of a smooth transition from entering corner to mid corner and finally out into the straight.

Overall, it is how a driver judge the limit and how smooth he can drive at the limit that makes him better.

To overtake requires a driver to more or less outsmart the driver in front. Nick Heidfeld has that ability to slip pass another driver. Hamilton has an aggressive style which is effective but can sometimes annoy other drivers. Hamilton is certainly better than others such as Kubica, DC and Ruben which just creates accidents when overtaking cars. totally unclean way to overtake. To me this is just a lack of driving control and lack of understanding of the limit of the car.

[ISLAMATRON]

Hamilton is certainly better than others such as Kubica, DC and Ruben which just creates accidents when overtaking cars. totally unclean way to overtake. To me this is just a lack of driving control and lack of understanding of the limit of the car.

Who is lacking? Hamilton or the others you mentioned? or all?

[jamsbong]

Hamilton is certainly better than others such as Kubica, DC and Ruben which just creates accidents when overtaking cars. totally unclean way to overtake. To me this is just a lack of driving control and lack of understanding of the limit of the car.

Who is lacking? Hamilton or the others you mentioned? or all?

Hamilton is the better overtaker

[lkocev]

I don't think Hamilton's passing abilities are purely down to being better on the brakes. I mean, from the outside it appears he is extremerly good on the brakes, but I don't think anyone has mentioned that he has an excellent ability to position his car on the apex in a way where he is disadvantaging the car he has just passed. That is just as imporant when pulling off a passing move, that you position the car as well as you can, where the other guy is going to want to point his car.

I could think of a good example of a driver who was defending from another who clearly had more confidence on the brakes, and through the turns. Imola 2005 the closing stages where Fernando Alonso was defending his position from Michael Schumacher. At those late stages was when the R25 had tyre wear problems and the rears were almost worn through the grooves. Schumacher was catching Alonso at some rate, something like a second or so a lap, and you could literally see the areas where Schumacher was quicker - through the turns and under braking.

When Schumacher caught Alonso, I saw what I thought was the best position defending I have ever seen in F1. Alonso would position his car on the inside of the normal racing line under braking, which would force Schumacher to either take the long way around, or try to cross over underneath him on the apex. The reason Schumacher could never pull off a cross-over move was because Alonso was doing a briliant job at getting the Renault slowed off on the inside, and driving a longer apex line. So he was basicaly purposley driving the turn slower, but because he had cleverly positioned his car where Schumacher was making an apex, he could never get on the throttle where he wanted to, and hence Alonso would drive away from him on turn exit.

This I think is a good example that raw pace and better braking ability really can be out-smarted by witty drivers like Alonso. So the point I'm making is that positioning of the car is just as important to overtaking or defending, than having a good touch on the brakes.

[jamsbong]

Thats another way of putting it. I agree, to overtake or defending other drivers from overtaking is mainly to do with the minds. How you can out smart your opponent.

[Metar]

I think part of Hamilton's overtaking success stems from that fact - he has the talent, and the guts, to place his car not at it's optimal trajectory for the corner, but rather the trajectory that would force his opponent into submission. A prime example is Monza 2007: Ignoring the useless aggressiveness of overtaking Kimi from that distance, he managed to slide his car into a spot which cost himself time - but forced Kimi to back off and lose even more of it.


We should make yet another distinction: Between the best driver on the brakes during a race in clean air, on the brakes while attempting to overtake, and on the brakes in a hotlap. Best driver during a race keeps near the limit, without causing excessive heat or wear on the brakes and tyres. Best in traffic will keep his car at the very edge of braking, and often over it, in order to overtake. Best in a hotlap will keep himself on the edge of traction, without much regard for wear and tear (assuming he doesn't have an unsuitable set of Bridgestones).

[PlatinumZealot]

We have seen the number one driver still finishes the full race distance ahead of much faster cars in spite of claims that he is harsh on the car. If true, It means he is the best "on the limit" type, without causing excessive heat or wear on the brakes and tyres.