So don't assume you are already using the correct gears for each turn and don't assume the Formula One circuit maps have the optimum gears displayed on them - it's always worth experimenting. If you are using 1st gear regularly in F1 Challenge then you are probably losing a huge amount of time - with a good setup you should be able to at least use 2nd gear for most of those corners. You can take a similar view of the faster turns - if you use 4th gear for some of the very fast turns at Silverstone try using 5th or 6th and if you use 3rd gear for either of the fast chicanes at Magny-Cours try using 4th or 5th. Of course it is also important to have a good stable setup when attemping higher gears (and extra speed) but there are plenty of good setups available.


9.9. A Note From The Experts;

Michael Schumacher; "In my opinion, the secret of speed consists of taking corners on the limit while balancing the car with the accelerator to keep it stable. The majority of drivers try to do it but some are too jerky which costs them time. I really do my best to be gentle with the accelerator to the very edge and above all to stay that way all through the corner. Other drivers find their limit on the exit but they're not there on the entry or in the middle; it's all very well to be on the limit on the exit of a corner but it's impossible to make up for the time lost on entry."

Michael is of course talking about real life F1 but the same situation seems to be true in the F1 simulations. Recently I was lucky enough to be able to compare some of my Monza telemetry to that of Dominik Binz, and all I can say is the difference between us (1 second per lap) was nearly all down to the speed Dominik carried from the turn-in point of corner entry right through to the apex. My best lap time is 1.21.8 and I was comparing it to Dominik's lap time of 1.20.8.
He doesn't use the brake as much as I do so he wasn't slowing down quite as much but he has the ability to hold the throttle pedal at the perfect amount (from the moment of turn-in) to carry as much speed as physically possible into the corners (and all the way to the apex) without pressing the pedal down too far and causing the car to run wide. As long as he hits the apex with this technique it doesn't effect his exit speed at all (in a negative way) and because he is so good at using the maximum amount of throttle possible as he reaches the apex he normally has more RPM than a less experienced driver would have at the same stage. This allows him to accelerate earlier as he exits the corner and allows him to achieve an above average exit speed, which is quite stunning considering his focus seems to be more towards corner entry.
Analysing his telemetry really opened my eyes but more than anything it was simply very impressive - it shows why Dominik is considered one of the fastest racing sim drivers in the world. And if you have a driving technique similar to that of Michael Schumacher you can't be going far wrong.


All of the techniques mentioned in this section have to be done smoothly without exception. The whole process of braking, downshifting, turning, throttle control and corner exit should feel like a single fluid motion at every turn - it is here where you will find consistency. Yes it can take months and months to reach perfection but when you know what technique you want to use and you have the ability to execute it whenever required the whole process of driving the car will become second nature. Then you can give full focus to your lap times, your setup changes and your many files of telemetry.

Once you feel more confident and you believe you have mastered some of the more advanced driving techniques you can start to be a bit more aggressive. Nothing extreme - you will often hear drivers use the term "smooth yet aggressive" and when you have improved the accuracy of your pedal and steering control you can put this driving style to the test. Have some real fun for a change - forget about lap times and try throwing the car into the corners; really pushing the limits on entry and exit. You will often find you are more able to live with the car's behaviour because your techniques are now better and you are much more capable of catching an error before it turns into a crash or spin.

I know some people will go away to try some of these techniques and they will struggle - they will get frustrated and think "what a load of rubbish! none of this is possible!". Unfortunately I can't really help this except to say that these are the techniques a lot of the fastest drivers are using - they are very difficult to learn but they are possible. Practice them and try to focus on exactly what you are practicing. If you drive lap after lap and you manage to get a particular technique right only once in a single lap don't look at this as a negative - at least you know you can do it - it will just take many laps of practice to learn it to perfection.


If I was really struggling with a particular driving technique I always found it good to talk to people - there are many drivers out there who are willing to help and if you post a question on a forum or join an online session you will normally find there is someone who can offer advice.
I know some people assume the fastest drivers will want to keep everything to themselves or that they will be 'too big' to offer advice to people who are still learning but that is rarely the case. I have talked to many of the top level sim drivers over the years and I can honestly say they were all extremely helpful and generous with their time - they aren't just great drivers; they are great people as well.


10. Practice.

Quote (RacerAlex Advanced Setup Guide); "There is no substitute for logging the laps that make your reactions to the car become second nature. There is no quick way to learn a new circuit so you can concentrate totally on what the car is doing at any given point in time. The only way to be faster is to practice, read, learn, and practice some more."

It is very important to practice if you want to improve and normally the more laps you drive the better you will get. However I know that sometimes it really doesn't feel this way - when you see the fastest lap times by the top sim drivers it often feels like you are a million miles away.

You will get faster naturally to a point but to reach the highest levels you really need to find out what driving techniques are being used by the faster drivers and then try to work on similar techniques yourself. It's worth remembering that there isn't one technique which is perfect for everyone and not all the best drivers use the same techniques. This is something I have learnt from talking to a lot of the top drivers (from FSR and other leagues) - some seem to have very good braking techniques, others carry lots of speed into the corners and some concentrate more on exit speeds. Of course all of the really fast drivers do everything very well when it comes to braking, corner speeds etc, but they each have their own strengths where they are particularly special.

It is very difficult - don't expect to get close to the best lap times in a few weeks (it can take years to perfect the various driving techniques), but it's better to focus on specific things when you are driving all those practice laps so you have a goal and something to concentrate on. If you were to drive lap after lap without ever thinking about improving in certain areas you would probably still get faster over time but you would reach a point where you couldn't get much better without working on specific areas of your driving.

You can get quite tired if you practice a lot - I've noticed if I run a hotlap session with fuel turned off (so I can drive lap after lap) it does actually take quite a lot of physical and mental energy. It's the same with the longer races - you try not to make any mistakes at all but towards the end of very long race (50% or more) it normally starts getting quite difficult, the tyres wear out and you start losing concentration due to tiredness. So as strange as it sounds it is actually better to be quite fit for the longer races especially if you don't use automatic gears or traction control - it requires much more physical effort to drive with those two aids turned off and I normally see lots of little mistakes creeping in towards the end of a race which I would never normally make.

I remember a few years ago when Mika Hakkinen was putting in one of his stunning race performances - he was in the lead setting fastest lap after fastest lap and the commentator described him as a "machine". It sounded a bit silly but I knew what he meant and I completely agreed with him - it was as if there were a computer driving the car in a simulation rather than a person capable of human error. But Mika didn't drive those kind of races while thinking about what he was going to have to eat after the race - he drove them by concentrating on perfection lap after lap, focusing on each braking zone, each turn-in point, and giving 100% to every corner of every lap. It really was spectacular to watch.