Autosport Plus

Mark Hughes: F1's Inside Line

"Traction control is not a particularly powerful tool"

Autosport Magazine Nov 28, 2007, 3:01 PM

Hate to be a party pooper, hate to say I told you so. But we've just had the first two days of non-traction control Formula 1 testing - and guess what? The ban has made virtually no difference. Cars and drivers are about where you'd expect them to be, no one is suddenly struggling, no one is unusually higher up than normal.

Furthermore, the reports back from the drivers are that the aerodynamic and tyre grip mean you barely notice the loss of traction control. For example, Anthony Davidson: "It's amazing how little you depend on traction control. We're here in cold weather, on hard tyres and still running through the development stages on the car and we haven't even begun to work on pedal maps or making it easier for the driver, and it's still surprising how aggressive you can be with the throttle.