Sirotkin Column: The Art (and Science) of Riding in the Rain

When it comes to riding in the rain, it’s often a question of talent, feelings, courage, heroism. But, says FORMULA 1 Magazine columnist Sergei Sirotkin, there’s also a whole theory behind driving different lines and chasing grip on a wet track.

As always, it’s good to start with the basics. I like to talk about that too, not those little things that people sometimes point out like, “Hey, Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton is doing that lap in the rain.” only the basics drive in the rain. Because these are the most important.

Also read: Sirotkin column: Where Verstappen beats Hamilton, and vice versa: ‘The riding styles are completely different’

The first thing that is important is to realize that there is a lot of difference in speed between driving on a dry track and on a wet track. It’s mostly in the corners, and when you look at a corner as a whole, you’re actually looking at three things in terms of speed: the speed on the straight before the corner, the speed halfway through the corner, and the speed when exiting (accelerating out of) the turn.

There are of course exceptions, but in general the speed at which you approach a corner in the rain is about the same as when it is dry. After all, the straight is always the same length and your car always has the same power. The same goes for the straight after the bend. Compared to a dry track, however, the speed in the corner itself in the rain is much lower.

Entrance and exit

Look at it that way, and what is the basis of wet driving? Whether you favor braking and Entranceentering the bend, and the to go out† I’ll get to the mid-section in a moment, but the challenge is really getting the car to brake before the corner – which is much more difficult in the rain – and then finding traction and grip with a car that is. still has as much Powerful a like when it’s dry, which gives you faster wheel spin and loss of traction, which is something you want to avoid.
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To do all of this properly, you basically need to do what we talked about in the previous column: drive more in a “V”. For those who have forgotten, this means you brake the turn in as straight a line as possible. Then you try to take the corner so that you can overshoot in as straight a line as possible.

As you can imagine, this is especially important in slow corners. After all, slow corners are usually pretty square and you save more time by braking as late as possible and exiting as best you can than in the middle of the corner. Of course, you still want to take the corner well, but in slow corners the minimum speeds do not differ so much and above all you want to “prepare” the car for the best possible to go out† This saves you time in the rain all the way down the next straight.

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momentum

If you then look at the faster, shorter corners, like Turn 1 at Hockenheim, then the racing line is often the “straightest” line through it. If you follow a wider line, you will often make such a squarer turn and may have more grip, but less speed and momentum. In such cases, it is better to just follow the racing line, even if the car slips a little more. Since you’re driving in a straight line, the car can handle that.

A good example of how different lines can work is Verstappen’s unreleased pass over Nico Rosberg in Brazil in 2016. Verstappen was brave and smart enough to try the outside line and had a lot more grip and momentum than Rosberg, which had a shortcut on the inside line but had less speed. So that’s how much difference grip can make. However, the trend is that the slower a turn, the more grip an “outline” has in that location.
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known wisdom

So we’ve already talked about the lines to drive, and then I think it’s good to talk about this wisdom that we’ve probably all heard: that you have to veer off the racing line in the rain because the rubber on which rest it becomes very slippery. That’s partly true, but it also really depends on the track and the tyres.

One track has rougher asphalt than the other. In principle, when it rains, the water flows through these small “holes” in the porous asphalt. But: on the racing line, the rubber fills these holes during the weekend while the racing line is “rubberized”, it closes them. The water then has no further path to travel and thus “stands” on the top layer of asphalt, which makes it smoother. Some types of tires are more sensitive to this than others. But: driving wider lines is the trend.

emotional work

What I think is clear from this piece is that it is balancing, felt. Grip is just much harder to find on a wet track. As a rider you cannot predict where and how much grip you will have. It is much more difficult than when it is dry. This is why you should always check your first lap in the rain and “feel” the difference between the running line and the outside line that you can use as an alternative.

Read also: Sirotkin column: ‘Driving in the rain is like reading Braille’

You also have to adjust your car to this, which you can do at the wheel with brake balance and differential settings. If you mainly drive wider lines, you want a slightly understeered car, because then the rear stays stable and you can brake deeper into the corners, swing the car farther and come out of the corner with good traction. If you stick to the racing line, a little oversteer will help you get a bit more front end grip and keep the car turning in slippery conditions.

In general, knowing how to drive in the rain is more interesting than on a dry track. There are more variations in lines and approaches. Do you prefer the U or V style? Of course the speeds are lower in the rain, but looking for the right feel and what works, and finding that out as quickly as possible, is more interesting to me as a rider than trying to do 100 laps on a track. dry as quickly as possible. possible.