Watch an F1 car scream past at 200mph and it’s tempting to think that the driver’s job comes down to two things: steer, and don’t lift off the throttle a moment too early. Behind the visor is someone managing brake balance, energy deployment, differential settings and a constant conversation with the pit wall, all while keeping their hands on the wheel.
That wheel does way more than just steering the car – it’s the driver’s main control point for a huge range of systems, with switches, dials and displays allowing them to adjust how the car behaves without taking their attention away from the track. Driving an F1 car involves a lot more multitasking than it might look from the grandstands.
More Than Just Driving
Modern F1 drivers have a huge amount of control over how their cars behave once the lights go out. Some of that comes through buttons, switches and rotary controls built into the wheel itself. Other information comes into the cockpit through the dashboard and team radio. The drivers are able to make changes as the race goes on rather than having to rely on the settings chosen before leaving the garage.
Some adjustments are about getting more performance from the car, while others help the driver deal with changing conditions. They’re also having to keep track of information coming from the car and the team while staying focused on the circuit.
1. The Steering Wheel
An F1 steering wheel is closer to a control panel than the steering wheel you’d find in a normal road car. Rather than being a simple wheel for turning left and right, it’s a compact control panel covered in buttons, switches, rotary dials and paddles.
The paddles behind the wheel handle gear changes, while other controls allow drivers to adjust settings such as brake balance, the differential and aspects of the power unit. The display built into the wheel also gives the driver information they need while racing, including speed, gear and various car and system data. Formula 1 has described the modern steering wheel as a collection of controls for everything from brake bias and the differential to power-unit settings.
It’s less a steering wheel and more a control panel that the driver happens to steer with as well. Considering they have to operate all of those controls while racing, it’s probably one of the most complicated steering wheels you’ll ever see.
2. Brake Balance
Brake balance, also known as brake bias, refers to how braking force is distributed between the front and rear of the car. According to Formula 1’s F1 Glossary, drivers can adjust this balance while driving.
As the car’s fuel load and tyre condition change, the driver may need to alter the balance to keep the car behaving as expected under braking. Too much braking force at the front can make the front tyres lock up, while too much at the rear can make the car less stable under heavy braking.
3. Differential Settings
The differential controls how the two rear wheels behave relative to each other, especially when the car is turning and putting power down. Drivers can adjust the differential from the cockpit using controls on the steering wheel. It’s one of many car settings that can be changed without bringing the car into the pits.
Changing the setting can alter how the car responds through a corner and as the driver gets back on the throttle. A driver looking for more rotation may want a different setting from one trying to keep the rear of the car stable on a corner exit.
It probably sounds like a small adjustment, but being able to change how the car behaves without coming into the pits gives the driver another way to respond when conditions change.
4. Energy Management
The 2026 regulations have made energy management an even bigger part of driving an F1 car. The new power units place a much greater emphasis on electrical power, with the electric motor contributing a significantly larger share of the car’s overall output than before. The FIA has also made adjustments to the 2026 energy-management rules during the season, including changes to how much energy can be recovered and how much electrical power can be deployed.
Drivers now have to manage when electrical energy is recovered and when it is deployed. Using too much at the wrong point in a lap can leave less available later, while saving too much can cost performance when it could have been useful.
5. Team Radio
The cockpit might be physically separated from the rest of the team, but the driver still has to be in constant contact with the pit wall. Team radio connects them with the engineers on the pit wall, who can give the drivers information about strategy, tyres, traffic and changing race conditions.
Drivers also use the radio to report what they’re experiencing in the car. They might flag a problem, describe how the tyres are behaving or give the team information that isn’t visible from the pit wall.
This means an F1 driver has to listen, process the information and respond when necessary without losing concentration on the circuit ahead. As Zhou Guanyu explained to F1, the race engineer acts as the driver’s “voice” while they’re on track, bringing together information about the car, its power unit and race strategy.
6. Tyre Management
Tyres are one of the main things an F1 driver has to manage during a race. Temperature, wear and grip can all change how the car feels, so drivers have to really pay attention to what the tyres are doing and adjust how they drive accordingly.
Teams have access to detailed tyre data and can pass useful information to the driver over the radio. The driver can then change their approach on track, whether that’s managing their pace to protect the tyres or pushing harder when more grip is available. It’s not just a case of putting fresh tyres on and forgetting about them until the next pit stop.
There’s A Lot Going On Behind The Wheel
I don’t think we realise how much of the job happens between the corners – the driver is constantly responding to what the car is doing, making adjustments and taking in information from the team. None of it looks quite as dramatic from the outside because the driver still just looks like they’re sitting there driving.
Then you remember they’re doing all of this while trying to put together a perfect lap. There’s no pause to check what a setting does or think through the next decision. They have to know the car well enough for those reactions to become second nature, which makes the whole thing even more impressive when you consider how quickly everything is happening.
