Newey discusses several drivers: "He adjusted unconsciously"

Mika Hakkinen

The 61-year-old Englishman is now an indispensable member of the royal class of motorsport. In all these years he has worked with many drivers and world champions. It is therefore very interesting when Newey discusses the differences between the drivers in driving style and feedback to the pit wall. At McLaren he worked with two-time world champion Mika Hakkinnen, whom the Englishman said the following about:

"Mika Hakkinen is a natural rider. He unconsciously adapts his way of driving to the car. When we made an adjustment at his request he came back and the problem turned out to be almost bigger. That's when I realised that he adapts unconsciously. Here I learned to interrogate a driver to find out what is really missing from the car. Mika was always very frugal in his feedback so you didn't always get the right information". It just goes to show how important a driver is in the development process.

Hill, Vettel and Webber

Giving feedback is a lot harder than it seems. Clearly indicating where it doesn't feel right in the car is very important for the car builders. Damon Hill, according to many an underestimated driver, excelled in this.

"I was very close with him and in 1996 not officially his engineer but we talked a lot. He's an Enigma. In 1996 we had the best car and he had a good feeling with the car. Damon, for example, was very good at his feedback. He often drove very strong races in 1996 but they didn't come so clearly in the picture. Where should I put him as a driver? I don't know, comparing is arbitrary in that respect".

The difference between drivers in driving style will also be discussed. For example between Webber and Vettel in their time together at Red Bull: "Vettel likes a stable rear end while Weber would be more comfortable if the car was less stable. You would think he (Webber) wanted a more stable car but that was the opposite. He wasn't so busy turning the car while that was Seb's thing. Two drivers drive me the same car but both come back with different feedback. That's why teammates perform differently in the same car."

Newey continues about the differences between the men: "Mark was generally faster than Seb in the fast corners but Sebastian had a good technique in turning the car. Especially in medium fast corners. Mark's weakness was his tyre management, which often got in his way", concludes the designer.