So Fernando Alonso has insured his thumbs for the sum of 10 million euros. Now, it’s not unusual for athletes or film stars or models to insure a body part, or even two in some memorable cases…
This got me musing on the anatomy of a Grand Prix driver. The demise of the gearlever and the advent of power steering through what looks like a PlayStation device have placed far more importance – and thereby value – on fingers and thumbs. When I asked a young BMW engineer to show me around the steering wheel at a test day in Barcelona, he looked at me blankly. “Ah, the interface,” he said seriously, “ yes, a very technical and expensive piece.”
Paddle-shift and an array of colour-coded buttons require extreme dexterity in the heat of battle, not to mention operating the F-duct, the brake balance and the front wing. They are busy men, Formula 1 drivers, relying not only on lightning reflexes, sharp eyes and a strong neck, arms and legs, but also nimble fingers and thumbs. When Alonso clouted the barrier in Monte Carlo he will have kept those newly insured thumbs away from the impact.
A modern Grand Prix car is a brutal and fearsome missile. Not in the same way as an Auto Union or V16 BRM, I grant you, but the sheer force of the grunt, the grip and the brakes demand a certain standard of fitness. In the old days, of course, it would have been a driver’s palms that he might have insured, or his largely unprotected upper body. At Monaco they would finish with blistered hands, gloves worn through by the constant gear-changing. Now they must contend with huge g-forces in the corners and under braking. It’s no wonder they spend so much time in the gym, or cycling up mountains.
How much stamina is required depends, in turn, on driving style and the efficiency of the machine. There tend, even now, to be two main types of F1 driver. Broadly speaking, into one category might go Fangio, Moss, Clark, Stewart, Prost, D Hill and Button. In the other we might put Brabham, G Hill, Rindt, K Rosberg, Jones, Senna and Hamilton. I repeat, these are broad categories tagged with ‘laid-back, smooth and shrewd’ and ‘ ballsy, mercurial and out there’. Something like that. The two styles place different demands both on the driver and car. Neither Prost nor Button get on with oversteer, while Senna and Hamilton liked/like a car they could/can throw around a bit. I have been privileged to sit alongside Denny Hulme in a Can-Am car, Derek Bell in a Porsche 917 and Petter Solberg in a Subaru. Believe me, they are busy.
There will be many who disagree. But that is the beauty of debate, the post-race banter at the bar. What is not in doubt is that, inside the car, there is a lot more ‘shock and awe’ than you can properly appreciate from the grandstand, and it has always been this way. In times past you could see the driver at work. Now they are encased up to their necks in carbon fibre, appearing almost at rest in the cockpit. This is deceptive. You cannot feel the brakes, see the power or hear the snatching of breath. But watch the onboard camera at Monaco, Suzuka or Interlagos, and you’ll begin to get some idea of what’s involved in keeping the car on the asphalt.
This weekend we move to Montréal, a low-downforce circuit, but one which demands extreme concentration allied with stamina and dexterity. The walls are close and there is much heavy braking. Should Ferrari fail to find some extra speed in Canada, Signor Alonso may wish he’d asked Santander to insure his future as well as his thumbs.
“Signor Alonso may wish he’d asked Santander to insure his future as well as his thumbs.”
I think Alonso did have Santander “insure his future”. That is why he is at Ferrari right now and why everyone on that team has the word “Santander” across thier uniforms…. It is not like he is setting the world on fire and he has that entire team behind him a la Schumacher.
Very interesting column, thank you. But I want to hear more – much, much more – about your ride with Denny in a Can-Am car!
OK, guys, thanks for your responses to my latest mutterings. Actually, Alonso went rather well in Montreal despite being held up in traffic on several frustrating occasions…………………..This is good because Grand Prix racing needs Ferrari, the team is an integral part of the show. A three-way fight between McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari would make for a thrilling second half.
Yes, the Can Am experience with Denny Hulme. There is simply not the space here to do this justice so I will gently suggest to my Esteemed and Mighty Editor that I be let loose on a separate ‘blog’ or maybe even in a corner of the magazine.
Stay tuned, and thanks for joining in the fun of this on-line banter and debate!
RW
How much would the premiums be on Hamilton’s cojones?
We can presume Schumacher never even had as much as TPF&T cover on his Sportsmanship?
Dear Mr. Esteemed and Mighty Editor,
Please allot Mr. Widdows generous magazine space so that he can tell us the story of his ride with Mr. Hulme in a Can-Am car (both themselves Esteemed and Mighty). As you are just now in the prime of your youth, you will not have seen this particular driver/car combination in the flesh (or fiberglass), but those of us who did would have given an opposing digit to have had the experience given to Mr. Widdows. I believe he will share that experience for a less painful price (although it must still be a fair one). Please invite him to share this tale, and to bring pictures.
May you live forever,
pc
I very much agree with the point that even if todays drivers have more help (power steering, semi auto gear boxes and a lot of electronic whiz bang) the sheer number of things they have to do really is impressive. They have to handle all the buttons Mr. Widdows mentioned, while at the same time concentrating on the line, being aware of their surroundings, and making their stratagy work…only with training can someone handle that much going on.
I was lucky enough to rent a 125CC shifter kart a couple of years back and I recommend any motorhead physically able to do so (or to own one, which I’d like very much). To drive such a “simple” machine is to open your eyes to what goes on in a F1 cockpit, even if it is at slower speeds (still going from 0 to 100 mph in about 6 seconds is nothing to scoff about).
Peter – thank you for your letter to the man at the top table. In fact I have been considering this and I’m not sure that the laps in the CanAm McLaren at Goodwood would sustain a feature. But what might be more interesting to some would be my many and varied experiences of test days at Goodwood, many of which were held in private.
To briefly explain, as a boy, and a teenager, I lived a mile from the circuit. So I always knew when something was happening during those years between about 1960 and the mid 1970s. This was a huge privilege, seeing the development of Lotus, Cooper, McLaren, Honda, Brabham, the Ford GT40 (originally the Lola) and many others. Happy and fascinating memories, all. Towards the end of Goodwood’s heyday as a test track, there was Nelson Piquet in the Brabham who went round in one minute flat. There were those there that day that reckoned he must have cut the corner at Lavant, flat out across the grass………………………..Maybe.
Alistair – they are probably irreplaceable and therefore not worth insuring………………?!
Santiago – Yeah, it is the ability to think of a great many things at once and – more importantly – to get everyhting done instinctively. Those who need to think too long will never be quick enough. As we know, the truly great are exceptional in this way. For me, a fascinating subject.
Nice little debate thus far. But, please, not too many anatomical references in the bravery department.
RW
10 million euro’s for his thumbs …umm,
How much then for his wobbly bottom lip?.
about 30 bob I reckon……….
Anyway it’s not his thumbs he needs to worry about……
it’s his finger he needs to pull out, and stop crying like a baby.