Why F1 Drivers IGNORE the Perfect Racing Line 

Good to know for when I’m pushing my shopping trolley round asda

Brb gonna go test this on public roads

Two words: Exit Speed.

those moms in cosco didn't stand a chance. Thanks for the tip.

2 items: First, this line is optimal in high power cars that can accelerate powerfully and quickly enough that they can more than recover any lost carried speed. Second, this line is in some ways a result of the high power in that getting all that power to the ground so fast will push/snap the car around. If you have a moderately powerful car you will likely find that the extra 1 sec of acceleration will not be enough to recover the 10km corner speed that you lost. The fastest line will change for different cars and set-ups

I try to do this in Gran Turismo but rammers think it’s an open door.

That's what sim racing aliens use as well and they gain time on straights

I just realized this is exactly what I did in go karts when I started beating every amateur at our local track

This is mostly true when you've got a ridiculous amount of barely-controllable power, if you've got something more mundane the "ideal" line is indeed often ideal. Perhaps surprisingly, if you've got less power or less grip than your competitors the early apex or double-apex line shown also works.

A slightly delayed, sharp turn in with a late apex just works best. It is also a good strategy for canyon carving because if you end up in a DR turn, you're more likely to be able to negotiate it even if it catches you by surprise.

I’d love to see a professional driver do a test, a few laps with the “theoretical line” and a few with the “ideal line” to see how big of a difference it makes.

not to mention it makes it much more difficult for someone to pass you on a corner theyll always try to take it but you just come out with way too much speed whereas if they tried to take it theyll end up slower. love it

I was faster in my standard MX5 on a track day than a Porsche, GTR, and many other powerful cars , just because I took one lesson from an instructor on racing lines.

The braking ability of an F1 car is much higher than a POS average car

I'll use this in f1 game

Brake hard in straight line. Turn aggressive to the apex Throttle early

That's the line that I take into the double S exit off the highway in the morning on the way to work. It messes up the other drivers who are trying to follow me.

I do this in games to beat the opposition into submission but I didn't know that this was actually used irl until now lol

Basically use this move when you know after the turn is a long straight. Set yourself up to accelerate better and get to top speed faster. Avoid this line if theres another corner coming up

I learned this thanks to MX Unleashed. There is a technique called squaring the turn. You come in fas toward the middle of the outside of a hairpin turn and hit the breaks to slide, then pop the clutch and rocket out of the turn. It was super effective if there was a rhythm section after the turn. I started playing with the idea of using the technique in other racing games. It was easy to use in rally and drift, but sliding in other types of races proved... ineffective. I then started trying it with minimum to no sliding and eventually found that lines like the 1 shown in the video were really effective, especially when long, fast sections followed the turn. It was most effective for hard turns as well as some long, banking turns. I eventually found that in banked turns, I could use the slope of the bank to get a bit of extra speed and set up to pass in or at the end of the straights. It was extremely effective if you had a shake and bake buddy so you didn't have to struggle to get a slip stream from cars ahead

Its also a good way to protect the racing line if your in the lead, if someones behind you, that line shuts the door on the inside.

In my racing in Forza Motorsport, I'm thinking a last corner of a series of corners would be better to exit with a high speed, so brake earlier. While the first of a series of corners after a straightaway, brake later to be faster for longer.

That is exactly what we were taught at Brands Hatch in 1996. The example given is Druids under the bridge on the right then you make it into two corners as shown in the second example.

I believe that Monza last turn is a great turn to learn this, even though I fail often and fall deep into the left side - Im still trying 😂

This line is also used by a few other downforce cars like LeMans Prototype cars (LMP), Pikes peak machine, etc

It’s not the “perfect line” then is it if there’s a faster way to take the corner

its not the optimal line, you apex early or late depending on where you want to be coming out of the corner.

Great job with the subtitles 👍👍

That’s similar to ski racing except that in skiing one HAS to turn above the gate instead of apexing it, otherwise one would never make the next gate. When Phil and Steve Mahre started car racing, they were naturals because they had so much experience with line choice.

Ive only done little track days and i can agree i noticed this alot

Good info 😊

Thanks for the explanation

Well explained Scott 😊

Depends on the corner. Long straight after the corner? Aim for higher exit speed. A second tight corner to follow immediately? Can brake later.

Good to know for my impromptu f1 track for my snowmobile in my dad's field

I remember this info being in the instruction booklet for the first gran turismo game.

That was very obvious with Loeb and Schumacher ( that they still hold the record of world championship rally and f1), there line was very different from others , getting deeper in the corner , brakes more and slower in the corner but exit faster as they can flat out earlier.

Turbo is best on corner exit. Naturally aspirated is better through the corner because of the ability to control the revs directly without lag boost

I discovered this technique myself playing racing games!

Me walking through the winding hallways of my job

I watched a video once where a race car driver had a go kart set up with all types of telemetry, and he would experiment with different lines around a race track. He said it was impossible to gauge the fastest line using just the seat of his pants. He needed the telemetry to find the fastest lines.

I love watching things like this because I can see exactly how I drive like a race car

I used to do this while i used to roller skate in my childhood

Only take a later exit if the track after the corner benefit from the exit, it maybe that u want to maximise V max is you are coming from a long straight into a twisty section, then it may benefit an early apex

Another thing to consider, especially for a downforce car, is using the line that involves the least steering angle and therefore scrubs the least speed. The more speed you have, the better you aero works, the more grip you have, the faster you can take a corner, and the harder you can accelerate.

On Tracks like silverstone with maggots and becketts u need to try to make the road as straight as possible for maximum speed

Something I learned almost 50 years ago endurance racing motorcycles.

It all depends on the corner/straight after the initial corner. No corner is the same, therefore, no approach to it is the same

Been taking my car through canyon roads like this and man I knew it just felt right. As straight as possible towards the apex through a turn. Like if you were taking the tangent of an orbital curve

i will test it in assetto corsa right now , thanks!

Learning this naturally makes me feel like a genius

Yes! been doing this always with F4 cars in Raceroom

The grip and aero on an F1 car is very different to most other racing cars .

In France, Germany and Switzerland, you learn to take the line on that way for the motorcycle licence (A) and have to use this method to pass the exam !!

this is often the best option for f1 cars, as they have a lot more downforce than most cars, therefore they are able to take sharper turns without oversteer or understeer on top of this, the incredibly fast acceleration and deceleration of f1 cars also adds to how much better this line is

Me in a Miata: "This doesn't work :( " Me in a drag racer: "Holy moly, it works!"

Learnt this watching the gran turismo movie

I always get the braking and turn completed early to get the best exist speed.

So short corner divers 🤔

Braking immediately before cornering sharply also shifts more weight to the tires doing the turning, allowing for a quicker corner (and allowing you to accelerate a bit sooner). -But, break too soon and you'll have to speed back up before cornering, breakimg too late or too much can have you leaving the track, spin out, or losing speed (and time) on the back side.

Depends also on where the rubber is.

It also wears the tyre and has a higher load on the ICE so its not the most ideal for wear management conditions

Does tire management driving result in how you take the turns on a race course?

Honestly I just think about it like slingshotting things using planets you hug the corner then get launched at the end

The first is the shortest distance assuming acceleration is the same throughout the turn. But F1 cars can brake a lot harder than they can go. The second option takes full advantage of the larger braking force by braking late.

Love knowing I did things intuitively 😅 this is how I play racing games n get an advantage

I finally did that same move in Real racing 3

Basically the slower the corner the more you prioritize the exit (unless it’s a chicane or a succession of turns), whereas the faster the more you stick to the theoretical line

How long does the exit straight have to be to make up for the lost time entering the corner?

Cornering 101: Slow in, fast out.

Beautifully explained, let me go try it in my Audi allroad 😂

This is extremely important when Kart racing.

It seems that the ideal line requires later brake but whenever I tried this I understeer a lot and it makes me harder to make that sharp turn into a late apex. Any suggestion for that?

it depends of the curve and how far the nxt one is it's a mix of both and

Can you make more content about diesel engine sometimes, please🙏😁

We call this phenomenon Brake Then Turn. I know it sounds silly but it's that simple. Your apex will shift if you break hard late and then turn and then get on throttle earlier.

This true even though I only tried it on a video game 😂

Itd not about minimum. Its about keeping the car in a straight line as much as possible. Where its quickest

Also reduce that lateral stress on the tyre

True for formula 1 type machines & many sports cars, but less true for cars that don’t trail-brake well.

Engine torque curves would seem a characteristic that can be 'worked' using these techniques. The ability to command maximum torque at any rotational speed of electric motors seems a more elegant and effective solution.

Lewis and a few others did this in a Suzuki on the top gear track way back in the 00's

keep in mind that you can catapult yourself out a curve, use momentum. Its very rocket like

Is it just me or did none of the clips of the f1 drivers look like they took the “ideal” line you drew? They looked closer to the geometric line

Most people don't realize that your brakes exist to make you go faster by reducing your lap times. Exit speed is everything; it effectively gives you more straightaway.

I figured out this in canada f1 23 game by my self

it's like a slingshot at full throttle if done right ...

I would explain it differently, the first is the shorthest way with possibly least braking. The second offers least resistance after initial hard turn do this is the way allowing for the best acceleration and you also limit some time for braking. I would say that the first one is more Effective when driving a car with weaker brakes/worse acceleration and the second as it takes more time to rapidly accelerate. I guess that the second method puts much more stress on tyres.

I knew this from Gran Turismo. It is explained in the booklet that comes with the game.

In like a lamb, out like a lion. Works every time. Case in point, Alonso this year in San Paolo at the end of the grand prix.

I thought it was just me, 6:16 is hella underrated

I imagine this works for high performance vehicles. Would it be different if you were in a low performance track car?

And it also works better on streets since you can see true corner sooner

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.

Traction and acceleration of these cats is soooo good, that carrying speed in to a straight is so beneficial. Plus, braking late/trail braking (if F1 cars are capable of this), makes for carrying loads of speed ithrough the corner. I also know, mainly from watching this and other channels, as well as being a big F1 fan, that braking in these cars is as far removed from braking in a normal car, as can be! Less speed, less down force, need more brakes. Noobe could go in to an F1 can and drive it properly. You heed the experience of making your way through the lower categories, otherwise driving these things fast, would be entirely alien to you. Maybe this is the best line, because its an F1 car, and that driving a normal....ish car, fast round this corner, means the line used by am F1 can would NEVER work as the fastest option.

“Or any decent driver”, shows the goat

Thanks for sharing this 😄

Just tried this on a public road and crashed into outside kerb

Just realized this is the reason I speed through highway corners 😳

and it also makes a number on the tires