I want to start this lesson by showing you a few spins and telling you that all of them had exactly the same reason. The one thing in common in all these spins is that the drivers were expecting more grip in a situation where the track was offering less grip. In all cases the cars lost control on top of a crest. If you're not aware what to do on top of a crest then it's always going to bite you. So here's how we're going to adjust our lines on corners that have different levels of grip at different stages. And also how we're going to adjust the aggressiveness of our inputs in these situations.

Understanding Grip Loss on Crests

Let's say we look at this corner and we don't know that there are any elevation changes. The line that we're going to assume is going to be the fastest is this one. But if you look closely at the exits you can see that right after the apex we cannot see the track. If we cannot see the track that means we're going through a crest and the car is going to get light. Which means your available grip is going to be cut down by at least 50%.

The Jump Analogy

And here's the way we're going to finally understand what is the solution for these corners. Let's take an extreme example. We're doing a corner and right after the exit we have a jump. If you take this line in this corner and you jump this way your car is going to land outside the track. Because by the time you jump this your trajectory is going to be straight. So this is the shadow of the car jumping here. The shadow will always be straight. As soon as you get into a jump the car is going to go straight. It's impossible to get into a jump and turn.

So that's exactly the same effect that we have on a crest. Whenever we have a crest we go straighter. As simple as that but in order to go straighter there you have to do more of the rotation before. So the solution of this jump here is to get a wider entry and then align the car to go straight by the time you jump. So that you can finally get the car to jump correctly on a straight line aligned with the track.

Adjusting Your Line for Crests

This is exactly the same approach that we're going to have on a crest. What we want to do instead in this corner is concentrate more rotation on entry. This is delaying a little bit MRP and having the car more pointed so you can do this straighter line on the exit.

Detailed Corner Analysis: Reading Grip Changes

Let's take a closer look on this. So on entry we have actually a tiny tiny tiny crest on entry here. So you can see right here. There's a small moment where the track falls. You see we can't see the white line and then we can see it again. Right now we have a tiny tiny tiny tiny tip so there's a tiny crest on entry. But then right now here after we have a lot of grip here because we can see the track. We can see the track going up even right. So right now we expect to have a lot of grip.

Force Feedback and Grip Changes

So here what's going to happen with the force it back and this is important. Because there's more grip on the front tires there's going to be more forces acting on it. So the self centering force the passive counters here force is going to be stronger. So the force it back is going to get heavier. So right here you have to expect that the force it back will get a little bit heavier. And because there's more grip you can actually force more. So not only will get heavier but you're going to have to also increase your force to compensate that there's more grip. You're going to use that extra grip.

So right now the wheels light a little bit lighter on top of the micro crest. So lighter, lighter, lighter, lighter steering because it forces it back. It's also going to be lighter and you want to take care of the tires. You don't want to get too much rotation right. And then now as soon as we get here force feedback gets heavier your hands should turn more. You go you kind of like add more force and then this is the place where things will change.

Handling the Crest Exit

Because right now we can't see anything. So you get here boom you can't see anything. That means we are going on a crest right here and the car is going to get super light. You're going to feel it in your force it back and you're going to have to relax your hands more. Because the force feedback goes down. That means the grip is going down and your hands should relax more. So firmer hands here because of the compression. And then as soon as you get here relax your hands. The force feedback will bring a little bit more if you relax it enough. Even though it's weaker it's still got to act on the balance of the car.

So you relax a little bit and then you feel that the car is light. Right now you should kind of imagine that you're falling. You're falling, you're falling and you're sliding sideways because there's less contact with the track. See even with my super light hands even like blending the line I did get a little bit of overseer here. Passively remember I'm not pulling the steering to the left. I'm just passively letting the force feedback goes down because I'm relaxing my hands on top of the crest. Every time you get on a crest, relax your hands. And then I'm able to slide neutrally use all the track and get the fastest exit possible.

Core Principles of Grip Management

In short the more total grip you have the more steering force you can add. The less grip you have the more relaxed your hands have to be. And this is true for both aerodynamic and mechanical grip. So if you're going on top of a crest your wheels getting light. If you're going on compression your wheels getting heavier. If you're at lower speeds on a formula car your wheel is going to be a little bit lighter. But if you're at a very high speed then your wheel is going to be overall heavier.

High-Speed Compression Example

For example Road Atlanta turn one we are at high speeds and in a compression mid-corner. So mid-corner the steering is going to get super heavy if you're driving a formula car. Which means you have more grip and that you have to steer with more force.

Camber and Banking Effects

On-Camber Corners

Absolutely everything that we have talked about what to do in compressions will also apply to on camber corners. So whenever you have a banking when the track is tilted and it's tilted towards the direction of the corner that means you're going to have more grip. So that means you can break more turn more accelerate more. Just use more grip because there's more grip available. So just like in compressions when you have camber you're going to have more grip. The force it back is going to feel heavier and you're going to have to use more force and you're going to have to force more rotation because the car is going to be able to handle it.

Off-Camber Corners

And absolutely everything that applies to crest so whenever you're falling a little bit also applies to off camber corners. So if you have like an inverted tilting where the corner is going that way but it's falling away like that. Then the car is going to feel light. You're going to have to break last, rotate last. The force it back is going to be lighter and you're going to have to do a lot less rotation in these places. Which means you might have to adjust your line before or after or just carry a lot less speed.

Off camber corners have a brutal effect on the available grip. So you won't find many that are way too aggressive. When you find off camber corners you're going to have a very subtle angle and it's already going to be enough for you to feel that there's a lot less grip than normal.

Case Study: Mount Panorama (Bathurst)

There's no better example than Mount Panorama or Bathurst. Because this track is a roller coaster full of off camber and camber and full of compressions and grass, full of uphills and downhills. So let's do a quick analysis of the mountain part of this track.

Road Crowning Effects

First of all, even on the straight you can already see something here. The car is actually tilted a little bit this way. So see this is the reference here and then the car is already in a place where it's falling a little bit towards the left. So this is due to a crowning of the road. In order to drain the water when it rains there is a crowning. The track is actually more or less like this. The center of the track is the highest bit and then it kind of falls like that. Including in the corners.

Analyzing Grip Changes Through the Crown

How does that affect our grip? As soon as we start showing in here. You see we're off camber, we started breaking, we start showing in. Now as soon as we get on the middle of the track, wait for it. What is happening here? So the car is going from this to this. As soon as the car crosses the crown it goes from off camber here to on camber here. And because the on camber part is on the inside and we're turning right. We have more grip on the inside. This means that the amount of grip that you have just a little bit before right here is much lower than when you cross the crown and get on the banking.

You see we turn in here you have to expect less grip because you're turning right and the track is tilted to the left. So the car is going to be a little bit less responsive here. But as soon as you jump the crown, boom! Now we have twice the grip. We have a lot of grip and we can really force the car. Get back on power aggressively, we're still on camber, still on camber. Remember the track is crowned so that means we have a lot of grip here.

Exit Grip Loss

But as soon as we cross to the outside towards the exit of the corner, we're going to have the last grip. So what do we do? We can see already here the car tilting to the left. And then here even more. See? This is super dangerous. This is why a lot of people spend here or even hit the wall because they don't expect the change in grip because they're not aware of the changes in camber. So you see we go from off camber, cross the crown, camber, lots of grip, then we start going wide, off camber and even more off camber. Then we hit the curb and then we go to the next corner, camber.

Sequential Camber Changes

You can already see the cross here. See? Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. And here, this is a cool part because it's not only camber. It's camber and it 's a compression. So we have double grip here. We have the camber part but the track is also going up. So we have a lot of grip on this pit. And then on the outside here, right before the left-hander, we fall. So we're off camber, have a last grip. And then as soon as we get on the inside here, again, look at that. Boom.

Combined Camber and Compression

And then same thing here. We have a lot of camber and a lot of compression. We have a lot of grip here. We have to force the car. And right after here, right after this bit, now we have a crest. The track is doing this. So the car is going to get light and it's also off camber. So this is terrible right here. This is the moment where if you're not aware of the lack of grip that you had here before, you hit this wall. Just because the grip will change drastically.

Crest Recognition

And then right after this corner, we can see anything there. That means that's a crest. The car is not going to have any grip there. And you can see here, a small jump. Just fine. It's not a huge corner. But I see a lot of people spinning. I spun here already in important races. So yeah, I have my history with that corner. And then here, off camber, you can see the car like that. Then camber and compression. So lots of grip. And then cross the crown, tilt it to the left camber to the direction of the corner.

Multiple Crest Section

Now we have a crest because we can see the track coming up. That means we have a lot less grip here. So less grip, less grip, less grip. The car is light, less grip, less grip. Even more. Look at how crazy this crest is. We're falling down. So absolutely less grip, less grip and slightly off camber. But now, as soon as we get here, you can see that the track does that. So I have a lot of grip here. And it's a usable grip because we're going to be turning in here. So we turn in quite aggressively right now. Boom. And then we get on the camber part. And you see the pattern, right? So pretty much all corners are similar.

Dangerous Entry: Off-Camber Crest Combination

Here, we have off camber and a crest on entry. This is one of the most dangerous corners in this track. You can't see anything after. So I have to turn in lightly and a little bit before the crest and kind of go straighter a little bit here because the car is jumping. So you don't want to rotate a lot. But then right after this crest, you see we 've seen nothing. And then suddenly, we see a lot now because down there, we have a lot of grip because this is a compression. On entry on this corner, we turn in very carefully. And then here, we can more aggressively turn in because we have a lot more grip. And then on the outside here, it's kind of flat, but it is off camber. You can see the car falling a little bit to the right.

Early Turn-In for Crest Entries

And then the next corner, we already see that it's going to be a crest on entry because we cannot see anything after. So you keep going. Turn in a little bit earlier because there's absolutely no grip on this entry here. And then now we have a lot of grip because we landed on a kind of compression, then a little bit of a crest. And then a little bit of a crest again, then a compression camber. And then you change your action. There's a big crest here. You literally jump. You can see here. Other tires are not, the inside tires are not touching the track. And then camber and compression.

Mastering Track-Specific Grip Variations

So it keeps going. You see, every corner has a special amount of grip that's unique to that corner because it's a combination of how much camber that corner has. And whether it's a compression or crest, uphill or downhill. And also different speeds depending on the downforce that the car has. If you have been driving this track without thinking of these things, you have no idea how fun it is when you know how to master it.