Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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raymondu999
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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One thing I can't quite grasp is that it seems like Jackie's advise of slowly applying/rolling off brakes and throttle would be nowhere near the grip limit as he is easing in/out of the corners, no? I can't see how the technique as he describes it will be quicker through a qualifying lap. As I think we're sort of seeing with Button vs Hamilton. Button's driving I've always felt is a lot like Jackie's, and especially in 2007/2008, Hamilton seemed the picture that Jackie mentioned there where every corner is an adventure of opposite lock
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beelsebob
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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raymondu999 wrote:One thing I can't quite grasp is that it seems like Jackie's advise of slowly applying/rolling off brakes and throttle would be nowhere near the grip limit as he is easing in/out of the corners, no? I can't see how the technique as he describes it will be quicker through a qualifying lap. As I think we're sort of seeing with Button vs Hamilton. Button's driving I've always felt is a lot like Jackie's, and especially in 2007/2008, Hamilton seemed the picture that Jackie mentioned there where every corner is an adventure of opposite lock
I imagine the answer is in two things:
1) In being further from the limit, you're less likely to oversteer and lose a whole bunch of time out of the corner not getting the power down.
2) I doubt you're *that far* from the limit, but you're much calmer, and more serene, often a less paniced approach can gain you time in places where you're now not trying to do 16 things at once, but instead are able to concentrate on just smoothly getting everything working.

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raymondu999
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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beelsebob
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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I love the idea of jackie stewart doing the typical scotsman thing... going into the tunnel in BRIGHT SUNSHINE... as it tips it down with rain.

Jersey Tom
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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raymondu999 wrote:One thing I can't quite grasp is that it seems like Jackie's advise of slowly applying/rolling off brakes and throttle would be nowhere near the grip limit as he is easing in/out of the corners, no? I can't see how the technique as he describes it will be quicker through a qualifying lap. As I think we're sort of seeing with Button vs Hamilton. Button's driving I've always felt is a lot like Jackie's, and especially in 2007/2008, Hamilton seemed the picture that Jackie mentioned there where every corner is an adventure of opposite lock
Late to reply here, but I'm generally in agreement with what beelsebob mentioned.

In qualifying you certainly want to extra the most you can out of a car, but you also have to be aware of your own limits and consistency (or lack thereof). My feeling is that there's a bigger penalty to be had by going slightly over "the limit" than there is staying just below it. I'd rather have 10 corners taken at 99% than 9 perfect 100% corners and one at 101% which winds up wildly over or understeering, scrubbing off speed, and screwing your line for the next corner, and being a slow lap.

I also feel like good race driving is not about driving 10/10ths all the time, for similar reasons as above. On top of that you have to manage the stint. If you kill your tires on lap 1 going absolutely all out is probably going to cost you more spots in the long run than however many you gained initially.
Grip is a four letter word. All opinions are my own and not those of current or previous employers.

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raymondu999
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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Yeah JT - I was talking about qualifying, as I mentioned in my post :P

Here is an excerpt off an interview that Maurice Hamilton had with Sir Jackie, which I feel is relevant to the thread:

Maurice - How much can you tell that's happening when you're just looking at the pictures from the on-board cameras?
Sir JYS - Look at the driver's hands on the steering wheel. Some of them are all over the place; everything's an adventure. What you don't need is a challenge; what you really want is an invitation. The Matra MS80 I drove to win the championship in 1969 was an invitation. I gave it time to do everything, and it let me do things I would not have been able to do had I been trying to keep up with a difficult animal. You want to lead a placid animal into a corner. If I overdid it under braking and it became too busy, suddenly I was trying to consume this business just to get the apex. But if everything is calm, on the way in I'd be thinking of the exit – not the apex.

It's sometimes difficult to make a young driver understand this, because he thinks all he's got to do is drive it. When you get into F1, it's a whole new package. Suddenly there's not as much space between the exit of one corner and the entry to the next. You're up through the box and you're working the steering wheel and the buttons. You get to the next corner and you're not prepared. It's about being able to find time and create very subtle improvements that suddenly make the laptimes more consistent.

Most of the current F1 drivers turn in far too fast; you can see it on TV. Vettel turns in microseconds slower, and so does Alonso. It's only microseconds, but that little bit is taking all of the tensions within the car. It's very simple, but there are no coaches to tell them that.
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Sevach
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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JimClarkFan wrote: I do a little bit of karting with mates, and look at some of the F1 pole laps in the hope that I can pick up something. After seeing that video, I now think that I might actually have been doing more harm than good.
I know what you mean, as an amateur karter myself, i quickly found out that "trying harder" makes me slower, technique is everything, balls and guts won't take you very far.

Brilliant vid, brilliant teacher, and i have to say that even though current f1 cars are a lot more receptive to agressive driving, keeping the momentum will always be important.

For ex. Hamilton, who is no doubt very agressive, has always been regarded as having a phenomenal sensitivity for the brakes (rolling off the brakes) so often there is more than meets the eye.

Sevach
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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raymondu999 wrote:One thing I can't quite grasp is that it seems like Jackie's advise of slowly applying/rolling off brakes and throttle would be nowhere near the grip limit as he is easing in/out of the corners, no? I can't see how the technique as he describes it will be quicker through a qualifying lap. As I think we're sort of seeing with Button vs Hamilton. Button's driving I've always felt is a lot like Jackie's, and especially in 2007/2008, Hamilton seemed the picture that Jackie mentioned there where every corner is an adventure of opposite lock
Jackie's cars didn't have the downforce and ultra stiff suspensions of modern times, nowadays drivers brake as hard as possible initially to take advantage of the humongous downforce at top speeds, and ease off/roll off the brakes as the car loose speed and downforce (and grip) with it, this is common to all drivers and even F1 sims teach you that, so yes, even today you still have to release the brakes smootly to keep the tires correctly loaded and the car balanced.

On Jackie's days of no downforce and huge suspension travel i guess even the initial braking input had to be smooth.

Other than that he is preaching "slow in, fast out".

Just_a_fan
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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In that clip, Monaco is a totally different circuit to today. A real eye opener as to how the tracks have evolved over the years.
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beelsebob
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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Just_a_fan wrote:In that clip, Monaco is a totally different circuit to today. A real eye opener as to how the tracks have evolved over the years.
Not really – the only major difference is the schicaines in the swimming pool section.

Just_a_fan
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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St Devote was a different profile, the tunnel was much shorter, the tunnel exit chicane was totally different, the swimming pool was absent, the last two corners are also differently profiled. Certainly a number of significant differences.
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Sevach
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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I remember this track back form the GPL days, Saint Devote was a lot more open and "cut-able", same as the modern track up to the tunnel (other than the fact that there are very little guard rails, and the sidewalk is sticking right there), Casino, Mirabeau, Grand hotel and portier... the tunnel itself is shorter but the track is the same.

After that everything changes, the chicane after the tunnel is a very scary high speed one, there is a big jump (seriously you can loose contact with the track) before Tabac and then it's a straight line to Rascasse, a corner that feels very different without the sideways braking zone, no Anthony Noughes to end the lap either after Rascasse(don't even no if it was called Rascasse back then, it's such a different corner) you are back on the main straight.

I remember thinking it was a better track, the only thing i would change is the Tabac jump.

hyde and zeek
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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Now and back then.

3 pedals - 2 feet, hand off wheel to shift a lot, down shifts / heal toe, etc.

2 pedals - 2 feet, both hands on wheel, paddle shift, no clutch work, can fine tune braking skill

Different skill set today, not better or worse, but different.

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raymondu999
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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The video's been taken down. Meh.

But here:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb1vr9shN7w[/youtube]
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raymondu999
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Re: Jackie Stewart imparting some wisdom.

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I was listening to Motor Sport magazine's latest podcast, including a Q&A with Sir Jackie, and legendary mechanic Jo Ramirez. I've clipped out some interesting portions. Unfortunately it's audio only, so I uploaded them to SoundCloud instead.

Jackie Stewart on how to drive:
https://soundcloud.com/raymond-umbara/jys-on-driving
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