I was talking about the actual act of changing gear i.e. hitting a switch vs using a manual clutch and gate. With both you still have to time the gear changes appropriately, as they are both manual operations in that respect. Obviously PDK can be set to full auto, which is illegal in F1. In F1, the engine is automatically blipped to match downshifts too, but there has to be a manual driver request to make any shift up or down. There is no skill involved in changing gear other than choosing the right gear at the right time, which is relevant for any type of gearbox. An electronic paddle shift takes away all the rev matching, clutch operation and physical stick movement through gates. A manual F1 car from the 80's is a serious handful to drive in those terms alone. A modern F1 car is a breeze to drive when off the limit. A few years ago we even had a competition where the prize was a few laps around Silverstone in the F1 car. The young guy who won the drive had zero racing experience and drove it quite happily after an hour's preparation on the simulator. Obviously he wasn't quick, but changing gear was never an issue with the paddle shift. Just had to get used to the hand clutch when leaving the pits (which is actually a little tricky).Taz wrote: ↑Thu Apr 19, 2018 4:09 pm Quote "There is no skill in changing gear in an F1 car"
May I suggest otherwise ...
My son races in the UK and with a sequential gearbox - admittedly not to F1 standard, but nonetheless, going down the box especially is not just a question of banging the paddle a few times, but rather a skill to time the changes with the braking and engine speed. If you listen carefully next time you watch F1 on TV you will hear that the drivers leave a slight gap between some of the down changes.
Relating this to Porsche road cars, PDK is about the easiest thing in the world to drive in manual mode as far as gear change is concerned. My classic 80's 911 with its clunky manual shift (915 box) is at the other end of the spectrum, where simple gear shifting requires serious attention to get it right. Enough to actually make it a bit annoying to use. I also had a manual 996 and that was a joy to use and probably the easiest manual box to heel & toe that I've used regularly. Still prefer PDK in manual mode though on my favourite B-roads. Or no gearbox at all like in my Tesla!
