And I thought the few buttons on my sim steering wheel was complicated ....

How did they manage to take such a good picture at 308kph?

I'll never understand why these things cost so much. Some carbon fibre and some circuitry. Alright, so it has to be made waterproof and carbon fibre doesn't come cheap, but $20,000 plus? Really?

Perhaps the cost also reflects the man-hours required to build the thing. In which case they either need to find a way to simplify production, or stop having them hand finished by Peter Sauber himself.

The cost thing must be down to the fact they are not mass produced. Even if one company made them all for all teams about one hundred of a run might cover the amount needed for a season. Then each team wants them a bit different to suit their drivers and I'd imagine the software needed to operate them would not come cheap.

I would not fancy writing the instruction manual either

they are clearly not all water proof based on McLaren today

The two Merc drivers have different wheels. Nico has the big display, newly permitted version with lots of info. Lewis still has last year's "minimalist" design.

There's a short article on the Formula1.com site about the old versus new.

Can you provide a link proving Hamilton uses a display different that Rosberg?

This picture contradicts that:



Please read "RULES OF IN-DEPTH".

I'm sure they don't use cheap components, but that's a bit of an overstatment. It's mostly an economy of scale. They're all hand built to a greater extent than mass-produced electronics.

As a product designer, I can imagine those wheels really are expensive: not only the electronics but the designing, mock-ups, modelling, moulding, forming and shaping. So many man/woman hours are expensive, and as mentioned above, production runs are so low! Different versions between two team drivers? Each driver should cough up for his own non-standard special requirements.

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Not quite on topic, but same manufacturer involved: Mercedes-Benz. Back in 1963 they brought a Mercedes-Benz W154/39 to Johannesburg for a motor show.
Fabulous to see, even though it was not driven or run. However the following week while on display in the local dealer showroom in central Johannesburg, the steering wheel went missing and was never found. Beautifully made, smooth wood rim, four spoke job. Blinkers old sport...you didn't happen to be part of the loading crew were you? Just saying...

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The limited run is a major factor in the price and remember, the price is not really the cost of the materials. They base it on the work involved in building it which is not done in a day. The many electronic devices cars run are often housed in the wheel. This means that during a race, if there is an electrical issue, often changing the steering wheel can cure this if the fault lies within. If these devices were in the car elsewhere, a fault could not be rectified without taking the car to bits.

Talking about supply and demand, all bikes and equipment that are used in pro cycling have to be available to the public. This was done to try to cap costs with rich teams spending crazy amounts on bikes and gaining an advantage based on money alone. The idea was that if they had to be sold to the public, the costs would be kept down. Stupid thing is, they are not homologated, thus if you want to buy the bike the Team GB team use for track cycling, remembering this has no gears or brakes, they say it could cost nearly £100,000. A truly ridiculous amount. However, it's available, but the manufacturers can concentrate on Team GB rather than be bothered with lots of the public buying them. They simply make cheaper replicas for those that want something similar.

Costs with high tech limited items are not related to other things in life. That said, if a rear wing which has no electronics can cost thousands, the steering wheel is probably cheap considering what it does.

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Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. [Lord Acton]
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Still wished they looked like this and the drivers had to remove their hands from the wheel to change gear. I also believe brake balance should not be adjustable during a race. If a driver messes up the balance of the braking because they've gone too hard on the front tyres or spun up the rears too much, they should have to drive around it, not use electronics to balance everything up again. Likewise, they often alter it every lap for different corners. They should have to compromise the settings for the entire lap. This would help separate the men from the boys.

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Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. [Lord Acton]
My own Google Earth Motor Sport file. http://www.mediafire.com/?jzm1ieatytv
Instagram @simply_italian_car_pics

A remarkable illustration of how things have changed. Kind of boggles the mind. What will they be like in 5 years!?

like this maybe?

http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/mind-pilots-steer-a-plane-with-thoughts-alone/

Wow that's just creepy. Foreseeable but creepy just the same.

I remember the late 90's and early 00's when Alesi was the only driver on the grid with a round steering wheel. Was awesome watching the on board camera when he was driving. He also used to have the 10am - 2pm position of his hands on it.

I agree. They are all at it so what's the point? What does it add to the sport?

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