There is a long running debate in F1 about the impact that drivers and cars have on winning. If drivers have their way, the wins are because of them and the losses are the car’s fault. But over the years, lots and lots of people have studied this issue, and it seems like winning is about 80% car and 20% everything else (driver, team, pit crew, team principal). There is some evidence that this percentage overinflates the role of the car. But the budget expenditures of F1 teams tell the tale because, of course, money talks. According to this breakdown, the engine alone represents 45-50% of a team’s entire budget.
If you need more proof that it is more car than driver, Adrian Newey’s recent signing with Aston Martin can help put this in perspective. Only the two most famous (and thus marketable) drivers in F1 make substantially more (Max and Lewis at $55 million), with the handsome and winning Monaghast Charles LeClerc making roughly the same ($34 to $30 million). Newey designs cars. Thoses cares wins races. That is why he is making a shit ton of money. Because cars, not drivers, win races. Of course their are exceptions (Michael Schumacher winning in the 1994 Benetton B194) or places where a driver breaks the sport with a stunning, once-in-a-lifetime performance (“Lewis its Hammer Time”), but most of the time the best car wins, and who is sitting in the tub, is not all that important.
This debate reminded me of the debate over steel. What matters? Of course there is a balance of attributes—edge retention, toughness, corrosion resistance, sharpenability—but all edged tools have three ways to change these attributes—grind (geometry), steel composition (chemistry), and heat treat (physics). So what percentage impact do each of these three things have on achieving the ultimate balance of attributes?
Anthony Sculimbrene writes the AKTI column for the magazine. I proofread his November column this morning. It was immaculate. There was a single comma which was added by Mark when he went through it. That is it.
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