Kubica to return to racing .....

[garygph]

This is the thread about Kubica right?

Getting confused by previous posts

[Giblet]

Just a final "HA".

So people, when you say 100% something can or can't be, remember that it can.

[timbo]

What is a bit worrying judging from onboards to me, is that he can't use his right arm to operate the buttons on the wheel. It means that if he needs to make an adjustment to rotaries he has to use his left hand and he has almost no control of the wheel at this moment.
But that is something that the team should react to and make a set of controls he can operate with his thumb. His wheel layout should be pretty unique.

[marmer]

What is a bit worrying judging from onboards to me, is that he can't use his right arm to operate the buttons on the wheel. It means that if he needs to make an adjustment to rotaries he has to use his left hand and he has almost no control of the wheel at this moment.
But that is something that the team should react to and make a set of controls he can operate with his thumb. His wheel layout should be pretty unique.

Anyone know if he has movement of his fingers in the right hand or are the locked in place like his wrist/elbow

[Unf]

Anyone know if he has movement of his fingers in the right hand or are the locked in place like his wrist/elbow

Each time he squeeze his right hand fingers he do it by "pushing" them - either by left hand or by leaning them by something.

He has a very little feeling so he can hold a quite light thing like microphone:

https://youtu.be/hb5LOAX7cVw?t=265

But I don't see that he could hold a cup of tea etc. So his right hand looks inert in about 90% for me...

[NathanOlder]

I think Russel is the real sleeper of the newbies... He looks like a ventriloquist's puppet, but don't take him lightly.

I don't think all the McLaren fan boys would agree but he might actually be the best. He did beat Norris in a spec series and Albion

Sorry its the wrong thread, but I agree. 1 thing Russell has over Norris and Albon is his aggression. Russell can be very aggressive when he needs to be, but its a very well controlled aggression. Norris seems to be a little over the top when it comes to bringing the car home. Norris needs to be aggressive next year to avoid doing a 'Stoff'

[PlatinumZealot]

Anyone know if he has movement of his fingers in the right hand or are the locked in place like his wrist/elbow

Each time he squeeze his right hand fingers he do it by "pushing" them - either by left hand or by leaning them by something.

He has a very little feeling so he can hold a quite light thing like microphone:

https://youtu.be/hb5LOAX7cVw?t=265

But I don't see that he could hold a cup of tea etc. So his right hand looks inert in about 90% for me...

His hand looks a bit lame when he's standing there, but in action it might be stronger than we think it is!

Remember this guy?

[strad]

In the broadcast last weekend they said he can "palm" the wheel with his right hand.

[marmer]

Could they make the lock on his wheel more severe so that he still has full range of wheel movement but less turning required to do it. I am sure with practice he could deal with the extra twitchiness

[Tzk]

They actually do this on all cars (changing ratio between steering and steering wheel) for Monaco to make the hairpins driveable. I'd expect them to actually change the steering ratio on some tracks for better driveability.

Also: F1 uses powersteering. So you can reduce the force/torque needed at the steering wheel to make it easier for the driver. More powersteering may result in less accuracy for the driver though as feedback from the tires to the steering wheel is reduced.

[zac510]

Most drivers have variable ratio steering too, so that the movement of the wheels at small steering angles is different to that at high steering angles. The rack and pinion are changed for driver preference.

[Manoah2u]

Most drivers have variable ratio steering too, so that the movement of the wheels at small steering angles is different to that at high steering angles. The rack and pinion are changed for driver preference.

this. the further to the right, or opposite direction, the higher the ratio gets, it's a matter of adapting.

also, there might also be the possibility to have the steering wheel a bit angled. so when it's horizontal, it actually steers to the right. that would mean to drive straight on, kubica's wheel would be positioned in about 5 minutes before 12 for example. IF neccesary.

again, he said 70% is done left, 30% right. that means that there's 'just' a 20% bridge to cross.
seems most people who like to dramatize it all turn that into 70% handicap for his right hand, no, it's not.

at best he has a 30% handicap BUT, even that is not true.

a driver using both hands uses 50% left, 50% right so to speak. and even then, they regularly drive with 1 hand on the wheel and the other changing settings.

so in this case, it's not 50% left, 50% right, but 70% left, 30% right. again, 'just' a 20% difference.
and even then, it's really debatable how far in percentages it'll be a handicap.
it's a handicap, that much is undeniable. but how much can be overcome is another story.

he has a race seat, so there's a way, that much is clear.

changing settings, surely also will be done different than the other drivers.

possibly he is 'handicapped' compared to other drivers that he needs to wait for straights to do more adjustments on the steering wheel.

then again, there are many ways to deal with stuff. for example, they could put some buttons/switches closer to his left thumb, so it can be changed whilst steering. or with his index finger. squeezing in a certain spot with the left hand.

and then he's still got his right hand. push buttons. perhaps even to the cockpit wall.

just an example. buddy of mine once had a motorcycle accident, where he fell, heavily bruised his right wrist, broke his ringfinger, bruised his right shoulder, had some cracks in the bone of his wrist and lower arm, AND had a pretty hefty burn wound to his right arm from where the lower arm meets the upper arm due to the bike anding up on him and the exhaust manifold ending up right up there.

obviously, he couldn't ride motorcycle, but he could drive his car. EVEN with his right arm.

his right hand and ring finger were taped, so was the hand itself and the wrist, with some brace that prevented the wrist could move, and the joint where the upper and lower arm meet also had a brace, and so did the right shoulder.

he moved far from as flexible and clean as normal, but he could use his right arm. he could steer with it in combination with his left hand doing most work, he could shift with little to no difference as to without the injury,
he could switch radio and use the navigation with just a day or 2 adaptation and then without any issues.

did it impose a handicap? yes, quite literally. did it influence his driving? personally, i think it might be debatable, but from what i saw, well, actually, no, not really. he could drive like any normal day of the week.

sure, there's a difference between daily commuting, parallel parking, and driving an open-wheeler to it's fullest,
but i'd like to remark that a lot of stuff is really not that hard at all to overcome or adapt to.

i'm without any doubt Robert has adapted to it and i'm really looking forward to seeing him in action.
preferably in a more competitive vehicle. I would have loved seeing him in the force india for example.

[NathanOlder]

Well if he performs well, doors will no doubt open further up the grid

[netoperek]

A bit of subjective observations warning. Mods, feel free to delete that post if it's too untechnical
I realised one day, while karting on the track, that I use mainly right hand most of the time. The other one it seemed used to take some load off the right hand, which makes all the precision work by default. Not so much, when I tried to consciously observe it, but when I was focused on competitive driving. Hard to make any %L/%R estimates, but it's definitely not 50/50 in my case with both arms healthy. I asked friends around, if it's the same for them and most said that when You think about it, the other hand is sort of a spectrum from "assisting" up to the point when it's "in the way" of what the dominant hand is doing. I even tried to do some hot laps with right hand alone and got pretty close to my personal best, though increased fatigue was observable.
I'm only karting for fun, and probably pro drivers rely much more on both hands, as they have some knobs and buttons to switch and experience much more load. I don't think though, that lowered ability on one hand means you can't get Your speed to 100%. Kubica himself proved it in some way in 2003 - when he won his debut F3 race with 18 screws in his arm and hence only one arm working. Now he doesn't have to use only one arm and as he said he's in the best shape he's ever been, so I believe he adjusted his technique to compsensate his limitations and with some tweaking of hardware possible as well, is all good and ready to attack. I'm very happy for Williams 2019 lineup as I rate both Robert (obviously.. ) and George very highly. Both bit different but undoubtedly talented. I hope there will be some healthy competition keeping both on the top of their game. I think Stroll wasn't very bad and is a competent racer, but Russel just seems like a tier above. I hope for some bond to develop between the Williams drivers and that George benefits plenty from Robert's experience and skill to take over when Robert eventually retires and get a WDC chance one day, as I personally think that he is the best in that fresh crop of drivers

[KubicaFAN]

We have the number RK reported from # 88
I like
Forza RK!