The wheel still steers the car – not everything has changed! – but this simple function to direct the car has been added to time and again.
In essence, F1 reinvented the wheel’s usage, and it has undergone incredible development across the last 35 years.
F1 steering wheels now also provides the driver and their engineers with a wealth of information that can lead to better decisions, while also offering an interface with which to control key functions for the power unit and chassis.
For those reasons, let alone the ergonomic alterations that are also made, a steering wheel is customised on an individual level for each driver.
If we take Ferrari as an example, there’s one significant difference in the layout of Charles Leclerc’s and Carlos Sainz’s steering wheels, with both drivers having a different preference when it comes to the layout of their clutch paddle(s).
Source: Autosport