I've now been checking a lot of videos and indeed it looks like Vettel is doing something unusual with his head position.Formula None wrote: Interesting how Vettel lets the headrest carry the weight of his head through the corners rather than leaning in. Is that normal? Who else drives like that?
I won't post the videos here, as the best quality ones are in the formula one site. But go there and check those on boards from qualifying for yourselves. The Red Bulls are particularly easy to follow, as the helmets have 3 bulges at the top: a larger one in the center and two smaller ones about half helmet width out to either side.
Start those videos of Vettel, and use the first long straight to record the central position of the helmet: put your finger in the lower edge of the video screen lined with that larger bulge in the helmet, and leave your finger there as a reference. Now look in the corners, how far he leans his head. The smaller bulges are a good reference for that, and most often they will not go as far as where your finger is. The helmets shake wildly when they ride kerbs, so try to ignore those parts.
Now do the same for Webber (only 1 lap in formuna1.com, but more in google). When he leans in the corner, more often than not the smaller bulges in his helmet will cross the position of your finger.
Do the same for Alonso and Massa (different helmet), and both seem to throw their heads around as much as they can, Webber like or even more.
Do the same for the Hamilton and Button (again 3 bulges in the helmet), and both are more composed, moving less, like Vettel does.
But then Vettel indeed does something unique. If you are not still bored out of your mind, look as his videos again after checking everyone elses'. He leans his head at the beginning of the corner, but then halfway through it, he often collects his head back to a more central position, sometimes in a chicane even looking the other way already in the first corner, with the result that in average, his head spends more time in a more central position than anybody else's.
Back then the impression of many was that the aerodynamic influence of the helmet must be rather small. Probably it is. There are two channels, one each side, for air to pass by between the helmet and the side head protections. When the helmet leans, one of those channels is virtually sealed. Can the altered flow extend as far back as the rear wing and have a significant effect?
Did anybody notice what the other drivers are doing?
