Racing

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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?

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— 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.

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What a sport. And then Senna, of course, is like a legendary risk taker. — Yes, and even before him, by the time, I mean he died in the '90s. But by the time we got to the '90s, racing was al already a lot safer than it was when Niki Lauda raced in the '60s. That level of danger is no longer there. There's still just a remnant of it and it is still dangerous, but nothing like that. And it's a little hard to compare through the ages, like who's the greatest driver of all time. I think there's a fair argument that Senna is, but we don't have the data. We don't know who he was up against. Like how would he fare if we pitted him against Max Verstappen today. I do think sometimes that you can have a bit of a nostalgia for the all time greats, but the world moves forward and new records are being set all the time and the professionalism keeps improving. Sometimes to the detriment of the sport, I think. There's a lot of professional drivers who are not only just very good at driving, but are very good at being corporate spokespeople.