Mercedes "clutching" at straws :-)

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/126603/mercedes-altered-gloves-to-help-fix-starts

LoL.
Andi.

Can't see anything wrong with that. Clothing like the car is also a tradeoff between safety and performance, so if they can come up with a new glove that can improve the tactile feel of the clutch paddle or design the stitching so it's more comfortable to hold at a set position without slipping but still keeping the fire safety requirements it's a good R&D project to work on.

I can see their thinking, coming from a bikers perspective my riding goes to rat **** if I'm in gloves that don't give me a good feel on the controls.

It's well known that gloves decrease your ability to feel how much force you're applying.

IIRC something like 25% extra force is applied because you don't "feel". I'd be surprised if they do little else than make them thinner though

If it helps it helps, that's all there is to it really.

By the fact Merc haven't fixed it suggest they don't quite know the cause or it is too big of an issue to fix mid season. Whatever the reason, if they manage to improve it then the gloves are still going to be a further improvement so it wont be wasted development.

its hardly clutching at straws, when in that very article they say its a problematic clutch. which apparently they cant fix this year, so anything else they can do to help is the way forward and more tactile feel is good for driving in general.

^
I think you took the thread title a bit too seriously

It's the equivalent of a driver changing the material on the bottom of their soles of their shoes or using a different helmet to change the airflow around the car. Nothing groundbreaking or interesting at all in the story.

bayo000 said:

^
I think you took the thread title a bit too seriously

Click to expand...

Yes they do seem to have taken it all a bit seriously.
Andi.

It's just common sense really.

I always ensured I used a pair of really worn out Converse when I first started karting - it gave a great feel of the pedals. Same reason I only used socks when sim-racing (GPL required a very delicate touch at times).

After reading that I feel Hamilton is being stitched up

Has Nicola been secretly using thin knock-off Mercedes gloves, to gain a start advantage?