If you’ve ever watched an onboard video of Fernando Alonso driving his Renault during the mid-2000s, you’ve probably noticed the odd way that he uses the steering wheel. Instead of smoothly turning into the corners, mid-2000s-Alonso aggressively turns the wheel incredibly hard, seemingly generating a huge amount of understeer.
This disappeared when he moved to other teams, so what was it about the Renault of that era that made him drive in such a way? In this superb video by Scott Mansell (no relation to Nigel) of Driver61, himself a racing driver and professional coach, he explains the benefits of Alonso’s unusual technique, the risks it carries, and why the method came about because of a specific set of circumstances which weren’t present with the cars of other teams.
