Racing

`4:52:47`

And modern race cars produce an absolute enormous amount of data, and you can analyze all that data after each outing. You can see an exact trace of how much you pushed the brake pedal, how much you did in terms of steering inputs. When you got on the gas, you can see every millisecond you're losing is evident in those charts. So what I try to do is I try to look at the chart and then I try to load that in and like that's what I gotta do. Oh, in this corner 17, I have to be 10 bar lighter on the brake. So I try to load that program in and then I try to repeat it now. Then there are all the things that changes. Your tires change quite a lot. These tires are made to only last 40 minutes in many cases. Sometimes at Le Mans we can go longer, but at some racetracks they'll last as little as 40 minutes before they really fall off. So you gotta manage that. That the grip is constantly changing. So your program have to suddenly fit those changing circumstances. And then in endurance racing, you're constantly interacting with other cars

`4:53:49`

because you're passing slower classes or you're getting passed by a faster class. So that's part of the equation. And then you're trying to dance the car around the limit of adhesion. So you got all those factors playing at the same time. But above all else for me is to try to become a robot. Like how can I repeat this set of steps exactly as I'm supposed to for two and a half hours straight without making 100 milliseconds worth of mistakes? — Yeah, low latency algorithm. — That's really a huge part of it actually. Your latency is enormously important in terms of being able to catch when the car starts slipping. You get this sensation in your body that the G-force are a little off, the slip angle is a little off, and then you have to counter steer. And obviously the best race car drivers just feel like an intuition. I have some intuition. I don't have all of it, so I do occasionally spin my car. But that's the challenge. — From everything you've studied and understand,

`4:54:51`

what does it take to achieve mastery in racing? Like what does it take to become the best race car driver in the world? — Obsession is part of it. When I read and hear about Senna and the other greats, they were just singularly focused. Max Verstappen is the current champion of the world and he is the same kind. Max has been fascinating to watch. I mean he is a phenomenal race car driver, but he also literally does nothing else. When he is not at the racetrack, he's driving sim racing. Like he's literally in video games doing more racing when he is not doing all the racing he's already doing. — Is there a specific skill that have that like stands out to you as supernatural through all of that obsession? Is it a bunch of factors or are they actually able to, like you said, develop a sense? Is it they're able to get to the very edge of the slip? — They're able to develop very fine tuned sensibilities for when the car's sliding. They can feel just these tiny moments

`4:55:53`

or movements in the chassis that transports up usually through their ass. That's why you call us like a butt meter that goes up and you feel like the car is loose or you feel like you're just about to lock up. You can really hone that tuning. Then the other thing is you have to have really good reaction time. And when you look at great Formula 1 drivers, they can generally have a reaction time of just under 200 milliseconds, which is awesome. And even 10 milliseconds difference makes a huge difference. You'll see it when the Formula 1 grit, for example, they do a standing start and you see the five red lights come on. And when the last light goes out, they're supposed to release the clutch and get going. And they can time this. So you can see exactly who has the reaction time. And even being off by 20 milliseconds can make the difference of whether you're in front or behind at the first corner. — How much of winning is also just the strategy of jostling for a position?

`4:56:53`

— There's some of that and some of it is also just nerve. Who wants it more? That's exactly when that sense of danger comes in. There's a great quote from Fernando Alonso when he was driving at Suzuka against Schumacher, I think. They're coming up to this incredibly fast corner. It's very dangerous. And Alonso basically accounts I was gonna make the pass 'cause I knew he had a wife and kids at home. — That's so gangster. — Just absolutely ruthless, right? — Yeah, wow. — That I knew he valued life more than I did. So there's a bit of poker sometimes in that. Who's gonna yield? There's a bit of chicken raised in that regard. And sometimes it doesn't work. No one yields and you both crash. But very often one person will blink first. — Can the pass be both on the inside and the outside? — You can pass wherever you want as long as you have just a slight part of the car on the racetrack. — And then you just improvise and take risks.