We're going to start with the most basic explanation of these two states to help communicating drivers how we should position and point the car on very complicated situations. Positioning is simply the lateral placement of the car and angle is where the car is pointed at. For example, changing the positioning means going left or right, and changing the angle means looking left or looking right.

Basic Positioning and Angle Principles

In a straightforward corner, we want to be as much as possible to the right and then we want to be parallel to the right line by the time you start turning in, and then we have the best line possible in entry. Of course, it's not going to be that easy all the time. We can measure the positioning and angle of a car at any point possible. We have a positioning and angle right now and then if you go forward a little bit, you have a different positioning angle, and another different one as you progress through the corner.

We don't need to measure them all. There will be important places to really measure these and have them as goals, as references, where we want to place the car in order to have the best line possible.

Checkpoints

These important places where you have to have a specific positioning and a specific angle are called checkpoints. These are just moments where you should really pay attention to because if you miss your positioning or you miss your angle, you're definitely going to lose time in that corner.

When you have a simple corner, the best positioning angle before turning is all the way to the outside and parallel to the white line. In simple corners like that, it's pretty straightforward. You just want to use all the track.

Using All the Track in Easy Corners

In easy corners where you have a long straight line, you have one job: to use all the track as much as possible. Make sure you get as close as possible to the grass. If the corner is easy, you have to make sure that you're exploiting them because it's easy, everyone else is going to be doing it. And if you're missing and not using all the track in corners like that, you're going to be losing easy time, free time.

Planning Ahead for Complex Situations

There are going to be more complicated situations where you can get an advantage by thinking ahead and preparing your positioning and angle in a way that you're going to benefit the most out of the corner. You have to think about where is your turning endpoint.

Example: Walls That Change Direction

When you have a wall that turns a little bit to the right after an initial section, you have two options: you either use the first wall and then go straight and start turning from there, or you can create a projection of where that second wall that is a little bit more turning to the right goes to.

In corners where the turn endpoint is after the wall turns, it's actually better to plan your positioning and angle in a way that you align yourself to the second bit of that wall after it turns to the right, because then you continue to use all the track by the time you turn and you're going to have a better line. We're always thinking about where we can get the best line.

Many students and beginners get aligned to the first wall, but then they kind of get tricked by the wall itself and end up having a much tighter line.

Sequential Corner Preparation

There is a moment where you're not on the limit. And this is what really matters. If you're not on the limit, you have to use all the track, because it's easy, because there will be situations where you are on the limit before you're setting up your position and angle for the next corner.

Reverse Engineering the Perfect Line

When corners come quickly one after another, we have to quickly bring the car to the correct position and then prepare the line for the next corner. We have to reverse engineer what is going to be the perfect line for the next corner.

Set a goal for positioning and angle at a specific checkpoint. This is the moment where we need to match the line exiting the previous corner and place the car at the exact position needed. By the time we get to that checkpoint, we have to be all the way to the required side and parallel to the wall.

If we relax and don't position early enough, by the time we get to the turn endpoint, we are not at the right positioning and we are not at the right angle. The circle we can make ends up being smaller than the ideal circle. If the circle is smaller, that means we're carrying less speed. The circle is bigger, we're carrying more speed. We want to open up the radius as much as possible.

Just because we relaxed a little bit on the exit area, we are not able to maximize the next corner. By the time you're exiting a corner, your mind's eye should be already on the next checkpoint.

Checkpoint Definition

A checkpoint has a positioning and has an angle and you have to place your car right there perfectly so that the positioning angle of the next corner is ideal. The solution is to just think ahead and bring the car as much as possible as early as possible to the outside.

Common Mistakes

What's very common is drivers relaxing, not getting the car all the way to the checkpoint, and then realizing they want to open up a little bit too late because their vision is not good and they're not planning enough. Then they go all the way to the wall and decide to turn, but by the time they get there, they're too late. Because they're too late, they start turning in and they either miss the apex or turn too much and oversteer or understeer and hit the wall.

It's never going to work if your turning point gets delayed because you relaxed and did not prepare your positioning angle in advance. If you were to set the line starting too late, it's pretty much impossible to actually hit that apex.

Subtle Track Changes

Sometimes the white line right before the turning point moves a tiny bit. In these cases, you're actually not going parallel to the initial white line, but actually using the line after that tiny kink, so you get parallel to the white line after that change, and you can have the best line possible.

From the cockpit view, drivers should deliberately stay away from the initial white line when they know it turns slightly, aligning themselves to what the line will be at the turning point. By the time you start braking, you're already perfectly aligned and the corner is much easier.

Positioning and Angle Under Braking

In corners where you have to brake harder in a straight line, the positioning angle that's going to matter the most is the one at the moment you start braking, not necessarily where you start turning, because as soon as you start braking, you're stuck to that line if you want to be perfectly on the limit under braking.

If you start braking and you realize that you have to move around a little bit, you're in big trouble, because if you try to move a tiny bit under braking, that's going to shift the balance of the car and the braking performance is going to be terrible.

Example: Breaking Zone with Turning

When there is a considerable amount of turning during the braking zone where the wall on the outside turns but you have to brake very hard, if you start braking and then realize that you want to turn a little bit, you're going to lock the tires.

This is terrible because a little bit of microlocking overheats the tires, and if the next corner requires those tires for grip, but now they're overheated because you did overheat them under braking, you have absolutely no cornering grip.

The solution is to think way ahead, move all the way to the required side on the straight and then turn and align yourself the best way you can to prepare a straight braking line that will eventually match the positioning and angle for the turn endpoint.

Two Checkpoints for Hard Braking Zones

In situations where you have a long hard braking zone, you have to take into account two checkpoints, two positioning and angles:

• One right before you start braking

• One when you start turning in

Those two are going to have to be aligned by a straight line.

Inverted String Theory

Note that braking may actually be a little bit slower initially when there isn't enough room to be fully straight. By the time you're starting to brake, you're still kind of adjusting your line a little bit. And because of that, you are applying the brakes as you're unwinding your steering and relaxing your hands. This is called inverted string theory, which will be discussed later.

In contrast, when you don't have to brake as early and have enough time to go on a straight line to be fully on the straight line before starting your braking, the brake application can be much quicker.

When Positioning and Angle Matter

The positioning angle matters when you get on the limit. If you're already starting to brake at a certain point, as soon as you start braking, that means you're supposed to be on the limit during the entire braking. If you're starting to be on the limit at a suboptimal position, that means you're spending all that time in an un-optimal line.

In comparison, if you're already positioned correctly when you start braking and are on the limit, you're on the widest line possible while being on the limit.

If you're not on the limit before a certain point, then a less optimal line would be fine if we started to be on the limit later. But if we're already on the limit earlier, the positioning angle starts counting from that earlier point. That's why it's much quicker to already be on the correct line and being on the outside, so by the time you really start turning in, you have the widest line possible to carry as much speed as possible.

Optimal Line Question

Consider whether using all the track at a certain point means you have an optimal positioning angle. If you started getting on the limit at a point where you're pointing the car towards the outside, that's not optimal.

A better line instead is to bring the car to the outside earlier, much earlier, so you can already be at the perfect angle before reaching the limit. At the earlier point, you're still not on the limit. But by the time you get on the limit, your positioning is optimized and your angle is optimized. That means you're all the way to the outside and parallel to the white line to minimize as much as mathematically possible the radius on the next corner.

If you're pointing to the outside and by the time you get on the limit the car was just a little bit angled to the outside, that increases the total amount of turning that is required to complete the corner.

Deceiving Corners

There are many corners that can trick you into putting your car in the wrong line. These are called deceiving corners. Some corners are very tricky because there is a kink before the actual corner. You might get afraid of following the white line on the outside because there's a big risk of hitting the grass and exploding into the wall.

But the best way to take these corners is actually being as close as possible to the white line. Even before turning, you should already be parallel to the white line and bringing the car in the best angle possible so you can really maximize the line doing the least amount of turning possible.

Compare being parallel to the white line versus pointing to the outside - the difference in line quality is significant.

Deceiving Corners and Checkpoints

The solution for deceiving corners is to have checkpoints. Deceiving corners are the problem, checkpoints are the solution.