Jackie Stewart on Racing In Monaco in the '70s

Is he talking about a car, or a woman?


Surely you've heard the term, "flying by the seat of your pants".  It was coined back in the early days of flying (before or during WWI).  Planes back then had little or no instrumentation.  The only feedback the pilot received from the plane was the very physical feedback from the stick, the pedals (both of which were directly connected to the control surfaces via levers and cables) and the seat.  And since the seat was the largest point of contact, it delivered the most feedback.

Though F1 cars of the '70s were far more sophisticated than WWI planes, they still had no electronics.  The driver's most important sources of feedback were physical - the wheel, the pedals, the shift knob and the seat.  Many consider that time the golden age of motor sport because there was a lot more experimentation and artistry to it back then.

Source: Red Bull

I can't really comment on that, but I know that the human element is one reason I prefer
motorcycle racing to car racing.  In motorcycle racing, the rider is always fully visible.  The spectator can watch the rider shift his weight forward to resist a wheelie, or backward to resist diving, or to one side or the other to assist the bike in a turn.

Intellectually, I know the race car driver is just as active as the motorcycle racer, but it's much more exciting to actually see what is happening, and no, the cameras inside the cars' cockpits don't compare to watching a racing phenom like Marc Marquez correcting a line by pushing off the racing surface with his knee and/or elbow.

Electronic aids are great in everyday life.  Anti-lock breaks, traction control, etc. undoubtedly help us ordinary folk avoid accidents, but we watch motor sports for the same reason we watch other sports - to marvel at people vastly more talented than we are doing things we could never do.  Because of that, it's probably a good thing that most sanctioning bodies ban electronic driver aids.

Incidentally, Jackie Stewart reminded me of another saying I've only heard in military settings: "slow is smooth and smooth is fast".  I don't know where or when that one was coined, but I know it's often true.