Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher explains all the features of a Formula 1 cockpit
INTERVIEW OLEG KARPOV PICTURE MERCEDES
F1 UNCOVERED
1 “There are two cameras facing the driver in the cockpit – both built into the Halo structure.
“The top one is a safety camera. You won’t see any footage from it during the broadcast, since it’s only accessible to the FIA for incident analysis – I’ve never seen any footage from it myself. The one at the bottom, on the other hand, is used during the broadcast but, as a driver, you never really think about it.”
2 “On the right you can see some stickers. The one closest to the wheel has a map of the track, in this case Barcelona. This may seem strange, but it’s actually very useful. Obviously it’s not there to remind the driver which corner is next, but it’s very handy when talking to the engineers. For example, after a run in practice, when describing the car’s behaviour, I’d always look at this map to make sure we’re talking about the same corners, since each one is numbered on this map. Barcelona is perhaps not the best example because all the drivers know it like the back of their hand. But in places like Jeddah, for example, it’s essential.
“Also, different teams use different numbering. Some number the chicanes as one corner, others as two. Fast kinks, such as the one before the start-finish straight in Brazil, may or may not be counted as a corner by different teams. So to avoid confusion, there’s always this map in the cockpit to be 100% sure you’re talking about the right corner.
3 “The ones next to it provide information about the chassis. The team sticker is the chassis number, and the FIA sticker is proof that it’s homologated and has passed all the necessary checks.
Obviously, since the cost cap was introduced, teams don’t produce as many chassis as they used to. Let’s say when my dad used to drive in F1, they would have eight to ten chassis per team per year, but now they tend to produce three or four for the season – and each chassis has its own number.
“The teams rotate the chassis from time to time because sometimes they need to be refurbished or just checked. Normally they should all be the same, but as a driver you can sometimes feel a slight difference.”
4 “The seat itself is tailored to the driver’s preferences. Ideally, you’d like to have the edge as high up as possible to give your legs more support. Then in the middle I usually have a pad that I put aro
